Whitman Mission NHS History
(Excerpted from
Whitman Mission NHS General Management Plan, 2000)
Establishment of Whitman Mission National Historic Site
On June 29, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed legislation (Public Law 840, H.R. 7736) that established
Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu as a unit of the National Park Service
(NPS). The act stated the following:
The property acquired under the provisions Section
1 of this Act shall constitute the Whitman National Monument and
shall be a public national memorial to Marcus Whitman and his
wife, Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, who here established their Indian
mission and school, and ministered to the physical and spiritual
needs of the Indians until massacred with twelve other persons
in 1847.
The act stipulated that the site of the Whitman
National Monument had to be acquired by gift, and included a right-of-way
to the nearest highway, U. S. Highway 12. Although there was significant
local support of the monument, acquiring the land by gift delayed
establishment of the monument due primarily by the need to clear
land titles. On January 20, 1940, the Secretary of Interior accepted
clear title and 45.94 acres were deeded to the NPS. This included
the Mission Grounds, Memorial Hill, and the Great Grave.
Actions Affecting Whitman Mission National Historic Site after
Enabling Legislation
More acreage of the original mission land was
needed to meet the objectives of the monument. By 1952 it was apparent
that these lands were not going to be available by donation. On
May 1, 1958, Public Law 985-388 authorized the purchase of an additional
46.71 acres located to the north of the original monument. This
acquisition was completed in 1960.
In 1961, 5.6 acres of land were transferred from
Walla Walla County to the Federal Government to provide access from
Highway 12 to the west side of the NHS. These two roads, the northern
portion of Swegle and Whitman Mission Road, constitute the park
entrance road and is owned and maintained by the United States of
America.
One year later, on May 31, 1962, the name of the
park was changed to Whitman Mission National Historic Site. The
change in designation from a monument to a national historic site
emphasized its historic significance and the need to address the
entire historic setting as well as the existing memorials to the
Whitmans.
In 1968, the National Trail System Act was passed
(Public Law 80-543). This act contained authorization and criteria
for establishing national trails. On November 10, 1978, the Oregon
National Historic Trail was established (Public Law 85-625). With
acceptance of the Comprehensive Management Use Plan for Oregon
National Historic Trail (CMP) in 1981, Whitman Mission was officially
recognized as a historic site along the Oregon Trail. The CMP states
the importance of the National Historic Site:
Although Whitman Mission is 31 miles north of
the primary route of the Oregon Trail, its history is indelibly
tied to the early years of western migration. This mission was
established in 1836 by Dr. Marcus Whitman, a Presbyterian missionary
determined to bring religion and civilization to the Indians of
the Pacific Northwest. Whitman and his wife, Narcissa, along with
Reverend Henry and Eliza Spalding, made the long overland journey
to Oregon in 1836, helping to blaze what would become the Oregon
Trail. They followed a route first used by fur traders and trappers,
and their journey helped establish the possibility of using the
trail as a major migration route. Mrs. Spalding and Mrs. Whitman
were the first white women to travel on the trail, and their party
was also the first to successfully use vehicles as far west as
Fort Boise.
Designation as part of the Oregon Trail expanded
the legislative purpose and significance of Whitman Mission National
Historic Site beyond a memorial to the Whitmans as specified in
the 1936 enabling legislation.
The purpose of the NPS Long Distance Trails Office
(located in Salt Lake City, Utah) is to preserve and commemorate
the history of the California, Pony Express, Mormon Pioneer, and
Oregon National Historic trails and to coordinate the management
of the four national historic trails. The Oregon National Historic
Trail master plan has been revised to identify elements that are
common to all four national historic trails and to make recommendations
for future actions. A draft plan was released to the public in June
1998, and a final plan was completed in August 1999. As plans for
the Oregon Trail are developed, these plans may affect the role
of Whitman Mission National Historic Site in interpretation of the
trail.
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