The Great Grave

This cartes de visite shows the Whitmans' grave before the memorial slab was added

Oregon Historical Society

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Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

This small cemetery, often referred to as “The Great Grave,” is the final resting place for those who were killed in the attack on the mission. The marble memorial slab was added to the grave in 1897, fifty years after the attack, at the same time that the granite obelisk was erected on top of the hill. The memorial slab is engraved with the names of those killed in the attack and marks a small mass grave in which they rest. Those here include:

• Marcus Whitman

• Narcissa Prentiss Whitman

• Andrew Rodgers Jr.

• James Young Jr.

• Lucien Saunders

• Nathan Kimball

• Crocket A. Bewley

• Isaac Gilliland

• John Sager

• Francis Sager

• Jacob Hoffman

• Amos Sales

• Walter Marsh

Though Peter Hall is also listed on the marker, he is not buried here. Hall had escaped to Fort Walla Walla and disappeared soon after. It’s believed that he drowned on his way to Fort Vancouver.

The headstone to the left of the memorial slab marks the resting place of William Gray and his wife, Mary Augusta Dix Gray, who were reinterred here in 1916.

The green space behind the grave was an active cemetery used throughout the late 1800s. Please be respectful by refraining from recreational activities as you visit this area and walk the mission grounds.