The Gristmill at Weyíiletpe

This modern-day sketch shows what the gristmill likely looked like

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Amenities

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

The missionaries had two big reasons to farm at the mission. First, the ABCFM expected each mission station to be self-sufficient. Second, and perhaps more important for the mission efforts, Cayuse families only lived at weyíiletpe in the winter. The missionaries hoped that learning to grow food in one place rather than traveling to gather it would keep weyíiletpuu families near the mission station year-round.

As part of the agricultural production at the mission, a gristmill for grinding wheat into flour was built in 1839 and then replaced the next year with a new gristmill powered by a hand-dug millrace. Many weyíiletpuu families planted small fields of crops and used the grist mill, but agriculture did not fully replace the traditional Seasonal Round as the Whitmans had hoped.

In 1842, the gristmill was accidentally burned down by the son of Tamsucky, a Cayuse leader. Around 1844, the gristmill was rebuilt, and the millrace was expanded into the millpond, further changing the natural landscape.

Today, you can see the trench where the gristmill stood from the walking trail, just to the right of the replicated mill pond. The pond is fed by water from a nearby creek similar to how it was fed during the mission years.