Fort Walla Walla

For the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trading post, see Fort Nez Percés.
Fort Walla Walla Historic District
Fort Walla Walla in 1906
Fort Walla Walla is located in Washington (state)
Fort Walla Walla
Location77 Wainwright Drive,
Walla Walla, Washington
Built1858
Architectural styleSecond Empire
NRHP reference No.74001985[1]
Added to NRHPApril 16, 1974

Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment.[2][3] A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied September 23, 1856.[4] The third and permanent military Fort Walla Walla was built in 1858 and adjoined Steptoeville, now Walla Walla, Washington, a community that had grown up around the second fort.[4] An executive order on May 7, 1859 declared the fort a military reservation containing 640 acres devoted to military purposes and a further 640 acres each of hay and timber reserves.[5] On September 28, 1910 soldiers from the 1st Cavalry lowered the flag closing the fort.[6] In 1917, the fort briefly reopened to train men of the First Battalion Washington Field Artillery in support of action in World War I.[7] In 1921, the fort and property were turned over to the Veterans Administration where 15 original buildings from the military era remain.[8] Today, the complex contains a park,[9] a museum, and the Jonathan M. Wainright Memorial VA Medical Center.[10]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 48
  3. ^ U. S. Returns from Military Forts, August 1856- May 1867, viewed on September 15, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Whitman Mission US National Historic Site page The Many Fort Walla Wallas, http://www.nps.gov/whmi/historyculture/the-many-fort-walla-wallas.htm, viewed on September 15, 2014.
  5. ^ Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 49
  6. ^ Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 41
  7. ^ Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 42.
  8. ^ Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 2.
  9. ^ "Parks - City of Walla Walla". Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
  10. ^ "Home". wallawalla.va.gov.