Fort Walla Walla Museum is situated in the homeland of the Cayuse people. Along with the Umatilla and Walla Walla Tribes, they comprise the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The descendants of these peoples maintain a thriving culture centered nearby in Mission, Oregon. To learn more about local Indian culture, we encourage you to visit our sister museum, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, in Pendleton, Oregon.

At Fort Walla Walla Museum, more than 50,000 artifacts and photographs, as well as a Living History series and other events and programs, tell the story of the many people who have inhabited the Walla Walla Valley. When Lewis and Clark traveled through this region in 1806, Indian people still camped freely along its many creeks. By 1818, fur traders had established a post. In the 1840s, wagon trains were stopping at the Whitman Mission. Soldiers established the first military Fort Walla Walla in 1856, followed by settlers who built houses, businesses, and churches.
 
During a gold rush in the early 1860s, farmers, bankers, and businessmen prospered. The effects of the gold rush and a growing agricultural industry made Walla Walla the largest city in Washington Territory. Since then, the area has been the center of a region known for its agricultural products.
 
The Museum occupies 15 acres within Fort Walla Walla Park, a part of the original 640-acre military reservation. The complex features a spacious Entrance Building with a rotating exhibit gallery, permanent displays, and an admission-free gift shop. Four additional exhibit halls flank the parade grounds, and a 17-structure Pioneer Village rounds out the experience on the lower level. The Headquarters Building houses two levels of climate-controlled storage and a research library. An early military cemetery lies adjacent to the museum grounds.
 

OUR MISSION

Fort Walla Walla Museum’s mission is to deepen the sense of community within the Walla Walla region by safekeeping the past, informing the present, and shaping our future.
 
Walla Walla has long been known as the "Cradle of Pacific Northwest History." By creating connections with this history, Fort Walla Walla Museum provides a sense of belonging to both long-term residents and families that move to the area. The Museum strives to continue learning about the region's heritage, sharing it through exhibits, events, publications, and other programs, and safeguarding it for future generations. Fort Walla Walla Museum/Walla Walla Valley Historical Society, a not-for-profit organization, traces its lineage to 1886 with the formation of the Walla Walla Valley Pioneer Historical Society. The Museum opened to the public at its current location in Fort Walla Walla Park in 1968.
 
An era of qualitative growth was launched in 1998, starting with the appointment of an executive director. Advances included an expansion of programs and services, the creation of a development program, the computerization of collection records, several significant additions to the permanent collection, and increased diversity within the stories told by the exhibits.
 
Construction of a Headquarters building was completed in 2001. In addition to office space, it contains 6,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage for long-term care of artifacts, an exhibit staging area, and a research library.
 
In April 2010, the Museum opened a new Entrance Hall and Galleries with much-added exhibit space, restrooms, parking, a larger store, and space for a future orientation theater. In further support of its mission, the Museum inaugurated a new Heritage Research Services division, which provides archaeology and other cultural resource expertise to the region.
 
Fort Walla Walla Museum looks forward to the continued growth of programs and services to help this changing community treasure its distinctive past and carry it into the future.

OUR VISION

We envision a community gathering place where children and adults come to form enduring relationships through stories that inspire us all to build a shared future.

OUR VALUE STATEMENTS

  • We prize historical accuracy and the artifacts that tell our stories.

  • We value educational programs and exhibits that preserve and represent the stories of all people in our region.

  • We work to build relationships among all ages and cultures that lead to a sense of place and belonging.

  • We collaborate with other organizations to further our mission.