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Tag: Walla Walla

Frontier Justice: Convicted Walla Walla land-claim fraudsters pardoned by President Hayes

Frontier Justice: Convicted Walla Walla land-claim fraudsters pardoned by President Hayes

Archivists realize that no matter how well they think they know their collection, it still holds surprises. The Washington Territorial Court Case Files collection at the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch recently delivered such a surprise. Eastern Washington University graduate student and Archives Intern Devrick Barnett has been working on the Territorial case files for a few months now. Also known as the Frontier Justice collection, these consist of the surviving case files from the Washington Territorial Courts (1853-1889)….

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Archives Spotlight: How fire shaped Washington’s city growth

Archives Spotlight: How fire shaped Washington’s city growth

Some of Washington state’s most prosperous cities were, at some time in the past, nearly destroyed by fire. In 1887, a fire reduced half of Walla Walla to ash. In 1889, Seattle, Spokane, and Ellensburg all experienced conflagrations that changed each city’s developmental trajectory. Most of that era’s residential and commercial structures were wood-framed, which even with stone or brick cladding made them vulnerable to fires. Also, nineteenth-century firefighters’ training and equipment were far below modern standards, which made it…

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Spokane Public Library
On the road again

On the road again

Over the past few months, Secretary Wyman has been traveling around Washington on a number of multi-purpose trips. As she is the Secretary OF State, we’ve been calling these community visits her Secretary IN State tour. Since August, she’s visited Kelso and Longview in Cowlitz County; Vancouver and Camas in Clark County; Aberdeen in Grays Harbor County; Pasco, Richland and Kennewick in Benton and Franklin Counties; Walla Walla in Walla Walla County; Bellingham and Fairview in Whatcom County, Mount Vernon…

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1950 highway map
Check out 1950 Washington highway map

Check out 1950 Washington highway map

Most Washingtonians probably can’t even remember life before Interstate 5, I-90 and I-405 were built in our state. But a 1950 state highway map found on our Legacy Washington webpage shows the routes drivers traveled before the arrival of our interstate freeways. You can make some interesting observations by closely examining the map, which was published by the Washington State Highway Commission: The main north-south highway in Western Washington was U.S. 99, which connected Bellingham, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and…

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Batman star Adam West’s connection to Washington State Archives

Batman star Adam West’s connection to Washington State Archives

Like many “Batman” fans, we were saddened to hear of last week’s passing of Adam West. West, who played Batman on the 1960s TV series, died in Los Angeles on June 9 following a brief battle with leukemia. He was 88. What we didn’t know is that our State Archives has a connection to the actor who played the Caped Crusader in the popular yet short-lived series.   Holy Archives, Batman! West had deep roots in Washington! On September 19, 1928,…

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March “Archives treasures” contender #2: Foiled prison break

March “Archives treasures” contender #2: Foiled prison break

Yesterday, we provided you with information regarding the Women’s Club of Olympia. Our second treasure from the State Archives is an image of a cell block within the Walla Walla Penitentiary in the 1890s. In July of 1919, Henry Jones, who held up the Bank of Bickleton on December 22, 1916, made a daring attempt to escape from the Walla Walla Penitentiary but failed when he couldn’t scale the outer wall. Jones was arrested after a western style stick-up of…

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Happy birthday, Walla Walla

Happy birthday, Walla Walla

(Photo courtesy of Washington Digital Archives) It’s long been known as the home of the Washington State Penitentiary, and in recent years, as a favorite stop for wine lovers (remember PEMCO’s clever “Walla Walla wine wine woman woman” ad?). But Walla Walla has been around much longer than most realize. In fact, this town in southeastern Washington was named by Walla Walla County commissioners on November 17, 1859. This photo from our Digital Archives‘ State Library collection shows horses helping…

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WSL Updates for December 9, 2010

WSL Updates for December 9, 2010

Volume 6, December 9, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) FREE BOOKS FOR DISCUSSION KITS OR COMMUNITY READS 2) WALNET RFQ RELEASED 3) WCOG EVENT HONORS BALLARD AND THOMPSON 4) IMLS NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS 5) NANCY PEARL PRESENTS – BOOKS THAT MAKE GREAT GIFTS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

The Whitman Tragedy – Part 2

The Whitman Tragedy – Part 2

For decades after the tragedy at the Whitman Mission, writers, preachers and others sought to place blame for the event itself and for the underlying causes. Resentments against the Hudson’s Bay Company and religious prejudices often colored narratives, and led to charges of cowardice or malice. Square in the middle of these disputes was Rev. H. H. Spalding, a colleague of the Whitmans. While there was often tension between the two families, the Whitmans and Spaldings were also colleagues and…

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