The seat of Walla Walla County, lies in the center of the rich farm lands of the Walla Walla Valley. To the southeast rise the hazy peaks of the Blue Mountains; northward, gently rolling hills fade into the distance. Many streams water the valley, Mill Creek meandering through the very heart of the city. The pioneers retained the Native American name for the site, Walla Walla, which means the “place of many waters,” a name eminently suited to the region.
From its beginning as a trading and distributing point, the city grew as circumstances dictated, not according to plan. Commercial and industrial buildings mingled freely with residences. Here and there among the newer, more pretentious structures, were a few old stores and office buildings, relics of the boom days of the 1860s and 1870s. The residential streets, quiet and peaceful, were bordered by many trees, which change kaleidoscopically with the seasons; from brilliant green of spring through the heavy fragrance of locust trees in bloom, to the dark lacing of autumn with its cascades of yellow leaves, and, finally, winter, with snow and the bare-brown sheen of branches. In settings of neat green lawns, brightened by seasonal flowers and shrubbery, were homes representing various adaptations—Colonial, English, and American farm houses. Several church spires rose above the tops of the trees.
The Walla Walla region has been intimately bound up with the history of the Northwest. Before the coming of the white men, an Native American trail ran through the valley, its course approximating the location of Main Street. The valley on Mill Creek was a favored council ground of the Native Americans. Six miles west, in the “valley of the rye grass,” Marcus Whitman and his wife, Narcissa, set up a mission in 1836.
A fort for protection against attacks was one of several in the region named Fort Walla Walla and was built in 1856. The following year a village was built up around the fort. On January 11, 1859, an act of the Territorial Legislature approved the name Walla Walla City.
When it boomed in 1862 during the Idaho gold rush, the village was incorporated and platted from land in A. J. Cain’s claim. The city is the center of a rich, agricultural area.
The Native American name means “…place of many waters…” referring to the tributaries of Walla Walla River, and the many small streams and springs in the vicinity. Previous names were Steptoeville and Steptoe City, for Lieut. Col. Edward J. Steptoe, who fought in the 1850s Indian wars.
