Do you know about the history of Whitman College in Walla Walla? After reading the short history below, this "wedding" will make your stomach turn in even bigger knots. The college was dedicated to God and the Presbyterian Missionary Marcus Whitman. This "wedding" despoils, besmirches, and defiles the great legacy.
In 1836, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, Presbyterian missionaries, established the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu, six miles west of present-day Walla Walla, Washington, in Cayuse territory. Their goal was to convert the Cayuse Indians to Christianity and introduce farming and education. They were among the first white settlers to travel overland to the Oregon Country. Their mission was sponsored by the The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) which was a Protestant missionary organization founded in 1810 in Boston, Massachusetts, making it the first major American foreign missionary society. It emerged from the Second Great Awakening, a period of religious revival, and was initially driven by Congregationalists, with later involvement from Presbyterians and other Protestant denominations.
The Whitman Mission became a key stop on the Oregon Trail, offering supplies and medical care. However, cultural tensions grew as the Cayuse resisted Christianity and farming.
In 1842, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions ordered the closure of the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu and another mission at Lapwai due to disputes, slow progress in converting the Cayuse, and high costs. To secure continued funding, Marcus Whitman undertook a grueling 3,000-mile journey from October 1842 to March 1843 to plead his case directly to the Board in Boston.
Traveling during WINTER, Whitman crossed the continent on horseback and by foot, enduring harsh conditions through the Rocky Mountains and Midwest. He left the mission in the care of others, accompanied by Asa Lovejoy, and faced dangers like blizzards and hostile terrain.
In Boston, Whitman argued passionately for the mission’s importance, emphasizing its role in Christianizing the Cayuse and supporting American emigration to the Oregon Country. He also leveraged his medical and agricultural contributions to settlers and natives.
The Board, persuaded by his determination and the mission’s strategic value as a waypoint on the Oregon Trail, reversed its decision and provided continued funding. Whitman’s trip also had broader impact: he promoted Oregon’s potential to settlers and officials, contributing to the Great Migration of 1843, which he helped guide back to Oregon with nearly 1,000 emigrants.
Whitman returned to his mission in 1843 with the Great Migration, increasing white settlement.
A measles outbreak in 1847 killed half the Cayuse population. Suspecting Marcus of poisoning, some Cayuse attacked the mission on November 29, 1847, killing Marcus, Narcissa, and 11 others in the Whitman Massacre. This sparked the Cayuse War (1847-1855) and led to the creation of the Oregon Territory in 1848.
The Whitman Mission National Historic Site was established in 1936 and preserves the site.
The Whitmans' legacy is commemorated by Whitman College, founded 1859.
As Paul Harvey always said, "Now you know the rest of the story." And this lesbo "wedding" is more sickening than ever once you know the rest of the story.
