Walla Walla in the 1860s was a boom town with a wide range of adventures available – vigilantes, rough and tumble fights, midnight hangings, and many people stopping for supplies as they passed through on their way to the gold fields in Idaho's Orofino and Boise Basin. E.B. Whitman, first mayor of Walla Walla, can tell you of those times. After marrying and having two sons in Boston, Whitman left for California to seek his fortune in the gold fields in 1850. Twelve years later, he reunited with Maria in Walla Walla, where his cousin Marcus had lived. He was elected several times as mayor of Walla Walla and was prominent in the community throughout the rough and violent times of the mid-1860s. Over the years he served as sheriff, justice of the peace, and clerk of the school board, as well as in other positions.

E.B.Whitman, true to his public-spirited character, is restored to life by local attorney and civic activist Daniel Clark.