Location of Whitman Mission

Whitman Mission
328 Whitman Mission Road
Walla Walla, Washington 99362
Recorded Visitor Info: 509-529-2761
Park Headquarters: 509-522-6360

Whitman Mission, a National Park and National Historic Site, is located seven miles west of Walla Walla on Highway 12. Signs along the highway make the park very easy to find. It is open year-round except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

The mission was founded in 1836 among the Cayuse Indians by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. As emigrants began coming through on what became known as the Oregon Trail, they stopped for rest and supplies at the mission.

After 11 years of working peacefully with the Indians, the mission effort ended in violence. On November 29, 1847, a band of Cayuse attacked the mission killing the Whitmans and 11 others. This led to war against the Cayuse by settlers fromthe Willamette and Lower Columbia Valleys. Then, in 1848, congress created the Oregon Territory, bringing formal government West of the Rockies.

Today, this National Historic Site includes the original mission site, great grave, memorial shaft (constructed in 1897), re-constructed Oregon Trail ruts and a museum in the visitor center.

Pictures of Whitman Mission were taken by Darryl Franklin