123-494: The Marcus Whitman Hotel and Conference Center is a hotel and historic building located in downtown Walla Walla, Washington . The hotel, colloquially referred to as "The Marc" after the fine-dining restaurant located on the first floor, is the tallest building in the Walla Walla Valley. The building was named for Marcus Whitman and has hosted several U.S. presidents, celebrities, and other notable people. The hotel building
246-591: A Bon-Macy's . Bon-Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores , rebranded all of its subsidiaries to Macy's , which operated in the Liberty building until 2020. In 1927, the Real Estate Improvement Company of Seattle invested $ 300,000 toward the construction of the Marcus Whitman Hotel . The 174-room hotel was designed by Sherwood D. Ford and opened in 1928. It fell into disrepair in
369-468: A native reservation and $ 150,000. The Umatilla Indian Reservation 's boundaries eventually shrunk to less than 200,000 acres (81,000 ha). The Walla Walla treaty remained unratified for four years, during which time the conflict between the natives and settlers was increasing due to frontiersmen encroaching on the promised reservation and the Walla Walla and Umatilla peoples' refusal to move to
492-621: A proclamation making the third Saturday of September " Adam West Day", to honor the actor, who was born and raised in the city. In 2020, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic , but the organizers announced that the city approved the erection of a statue in West's honor and a GoFundMe fundraiser to cover the costs of the statue. The statue will be placed in Menlo Park on Alvarado Terrace, part of Historic Downtown Walla Walla. Walla Walla
615-465: A "New Discovery" in 1749, and by 1750 was titled Richmond Gulf. The name was changed to Richmond Fort and given the abbreviation RF from 1756 to 1759, it served mainly as a trade goods and provisions storage location. Additional inland posts were Capusco River and Chickney Creek, both circa 1750. Likewise, Brunswick (1776), New Brunswick (1777), Gloucester (1777), Upper Hudson (ca. 1778), Lower Hudson (1779), Rupert, and Wapiscogami Houses were established in
738-454: A change to council-manager, but on November 4, 1959, the city's residents voted to adopt the government form. Walla Walla's second movie theater , American Theater, opened in 1917 showing The Law of Compensation , a Selznick Pictures film starring Norma Talmadge . The theater later was sold and renamed to Liberty, and eventually became a department store around the 1930s. In 1990, became Walla Walla's first privately renovated building as
861-491: A jury of HBC officials and supporters. During the trial, a crowd of armed Métis men led by Louis Riel Sr. gathered outside the courtroom. Although Sayer was found guilty of illegal trade, having evaded the HBC monopoly, Judge Adam Thom did not levy a fine or punishment. Some accounts attributed that to the intimidating armed crowd gathered outside the courthouse. With the cry, " Le commerce est libre! Le commerce est libre! " ("Trade
984-419: A local entrepreneur in 1999, who employed the services of an architectural firm that had restored several other historic buildings. The hotel has since undergone major renovations while still preserving the historic value and integrity of the building. Construction on a new wing of the hotel started in 2000, and the renovations were completed in 2001, adding additional rooms and meeting spaces. In 2017, following
1107-704: A major remodelling and restoration of retail trade shops planned in 1912. Following the war, the company revitalized its fur-trade and real-estate activities, and diversified its operations by venturing into the oil business. During the Russian Civil War , the company briefly operated in the Siberian far east , even obtaining an agreement with the Soviet government until departing in 1924. The company co-founded Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company (HBOG) in 1926 with Marland Oil Company (which merged with Conoco in 1929). Although
1230-521: A male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were other forms of households. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age in the city was 34.4 years. 22% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.2% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
1353-587: A month later, the governor and general manager met Banting at the King Edward Hotel to demand a retraction. Banting stated that the reporter had betrayed his confidence, but did not retract his statement and reaffirmed that HBC was responsible for the death of indigenous residents by supplying the wrong kind of food and introducing diseases into the Arctic. As A. Y. Jackson , the Group of Seven painter with whom Banting
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#17328586181011476-519: A neighborhood referred to as " Chinatown ". The Chinese settlers mainly worked in commerce, mining, and railroad contracts. After Mullan was unable to lobby the state to make Walla Walla a major railroad stop, and a fire in Chinatown destroyed most of the neighborhood, the immigrants left to find work elsewhere, including Eng Ah King , who was informally known as the "mayor of Chinatown" for revitalizing Seattle's Chinatown . In 1886, while Washington
1599-600: A rebuilt Fort Langley (1840) on the Lower Fraser to Fort Kamloops by 1850 and the rest of the transportation network to York Factory on the Hudson Bay along with the New Caledonia district fur returns. The Guillaume Sayer trial in 1849 contributed to the end of the HBC monopoly. Guillaume Sayer , a Métis trapper and trader, was accused of illegal trading in furs. The Court of Assiniboia brought Sayer to trial, before
1722-711: A result of the rivalry and were inherently unprofitable. Their combined territory was extended by a licence to the North-Western Territory , which reached to the Arctic Ocean in the north and, with the creation of the Columbia Department in the Pacific Northwest , to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The NWC's regional headquarters at Fort George (Fort Astoria) was relocated to Fort Vancouver by 1825 on
1845-524: A resurgence of Walla Walla's viticulture . In 1997, Gary Johnson founded the first brewery in Walla Walla since prohibition, Mill Creek Brewpub. In 2001, Walla Walla was a Great American Main Street Award winner for the transformation and preservation of its once dilapidated main street. In July 2011, USA Today selected Walla Walla as the friendliest small city in the United States. Walla Walla
1968-599: A revival. The first hops farms since prohibition were planted in 2018, and in 2019, Washington State Department of Corrections announced a plan to bring a vineyard and hopyard to Washington State Penitentiary, along with agricultural science education to prepare inmates for careers in the field. The program would offer inmates state-wide minimum wages, a practice only legally enforced by state law at private institutions. The city hosted its first beer festival in February 2020. In 2017, and annually, Walla Walla's mayor signed
2091-491: A trading post. The first Fort Langley was subsequently built (1827), establishing an early settlers long lasting presence in current day southern British Columbia. The fur trade in a wet climate turned out to be marginal and quickly evolved into a salmon trade site with abundant supply in the vicinity. The HBC stretched its presence North on the coastline with Fort Simpson (1831) on the Nass River , Fort McLoughlin (1833) and
2214-534: Is Nez Perce for "Place of Many Waters", because the original settlement was at the junction of the Snake and Columbia rivers. Tourists to Walla Walla are often told that it is a "town so nice they named it twice". The slogan was coined by Al Jolson , who had visited the city in the early 1900s in The Keylor Grand Theater. He had also said the same of New York, New York . The quote referring to Walla Walla
2337-538: Is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, it became the largest and oldest corporation in Canada, before evolving into a major fashion retailer, operating retail stores across both the United States and Canada. The company's namesake business division is Hudson's Bay , commonly referred to as The Bay ( La Baie in French). After incorporation by English royal charter in 1670,
2460-650: Is free! Trade is free!"), the Métis loosened the HBC's previous control of the courts, which had enforced their monopoly on the settlers of Red River. Another factor was the findings of the Palliser Expedition of 1857 to 1860, led by Captain John Palliser . He surveyed the area of the prairies and wilderness from Lake Superior to the southern passes of the Rocky Mountains. Although he recommended against settlement of
2583-616: Is now underwater behind the McNary Dam . On October 16, 1836, after news of a Nez Perce expedition to learn about Christianity and a deal was brokered between the Cayuse people for the use of the Waiilatpu region, Calvinist missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman established the Whitman Mission . A deep distrust of the settlers was cultivated between the Cayuse and the settlers as
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#17328586181012706-690: The Alaska Panhandle by present-day Wrangell . The RAC-HBC agreement (1839) with the Russian American Company (RAC) provided for such a continuing presence in exchange for the HBC to supply the Russian coastal sites with agricultural products. The Puget Sound Agricultural Company subsidiary was created to supply grain, dairy, livestock and manufactured goods out of Fort Vancouver, Fort Nisqually, Fort Cowlitz and Fort Langley in present-day southern British Columbia. The company's stranglehold on
2829-555: The American Revolutionary War , a French squadron under Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse captured and demolished York Factory and Prince of Wales Fort in support of the American rebels. In its trade with native peoples, Hudson's Bay Company exchanged wool blankets, called Hudson's Bay point blankets, for the beaver pelts trapped by aboriginal hunters. By 1700, point blankets accounted for more than 60 percent of
2952-659: The Beaver (1836), the first steamship to ever roam the Pacific Northwest for resupplying its coastline sites. The HBC was securing a trading monopoly on the coastline keeping away independent American traders: "By 1837, American competition on the North West Coast was effectively over". The HBC gained more control of the fur trade with both the coastline and inland tribes to access the fur rich New Caledonia district in current day northern British Columbia: "monopoly control of
3075-577: The Deed of Surrender , authorized by the Rupert's Land Act 1868 . At its peak, the company controlled the fur trade throughout much of the English- and later British-controlled North America . By the mid-19th century, the company evolved into a mercantile business selling a wide variety of products from furs to fine homeware in a small number of sales shops (as opposed to trading posts ) across Canada. These shops were
3198-586: The Fraser River . The three boats 40some crew led by the James McMillan were first to officially ever make it to Puget Sound from the continent, to reach its northern end into Boundary Bay and to bypass the mouth of the Fraser. They shortcut through two mainland rivers and a portage in order to finally reach the lower Fraser. Friendly tribes were identified along with subsistence farming land suitable for sustaining
3321-529: The Netherlands , were sold by the end of 2019. Until March 2020, the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "HBC.TO" until Richard Baker and a group of shareholders took the company private. HBC is, as of 2022, the majority owner of eCommerce companies Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th , both established as separate operating companies in 2021. HBC wholly owns SFA,
3444-652: The Nonsuch , commanded by Captain Zachariah Gillam , while the Eaglet was commanded by Captain William Stannard and accompanied by Radisson. On 5 June 1668, both ships left port at Deptford , England, but the Eaglet was forced to turn back off the coast of Ireland. The Nonsuch continued to James Bay , the southern portion of Hudson Bay, where its explorers founded, in 1668, the first fort on Hudson Bay, Charles Fort at
3567-867: The North-West Territories , was brought under Canadian jurisdiction under the terms of the Rupert's Land Act 1868 , enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Deed enabled the admission of the fifth province, Manitoba , to the Confederation on 15 July 1870, the same day that the deed itself came into force. During the 19th century the Hudson's Bay Company went through great changes in response to such factors as growth of population and new settlements in part of its territory, and ongoing pressure from Britain. It seemed unlikely that it would continue to control
3690-648: The Rocky Mountains into the Pacific Northwest , tied Walla Walla to more mining opportunities, and after gold was discovered in 1860, the area became the outfitting point for the Oro Fino, Idaho mines. The nearest part of the road followed the modern approximate path from Spokane to Walla Walla via Interstate 90 , U.S. Route 195 , and U.S. Route 12 . The population swelled due to the gold rush , resulting in an unsuccessful proposal to Congress to split Walla Walla from Washington into its own territory. Walla Walla
3813-571: The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 for price-fixing grapes. Welch's bought Church from Kelly in 1952. In 1936, Walla Walla and surrounding areas were struck by the magnitude 6.1 State Line earthquake . Residents reported hearing a moderate rumbling immediately before the shock. There was significant damage in the area, and aftershocks were felt for several months following. in the 1970s and 1980s, Leonetti Cellar, Woodward Canyon, L'Ecole 41, Waterbrook Winery and Seven Hills Winery pioneered
Marcus Whitman Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-649: The Siskiyou Trail , into Northern California as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area , where the company operated a trading post at Yerba Buena ( San Francisco ). The southern-most camp of the company was French Camp , east of San Francisco in the Central Valley adjacent to the future site of the city of Stockton . These trapping brigades in Northern California faced serious risks, and were often
4059-598: The Walawalałáma (Walla Walla people) near the mouth of Walla Walla River . Other inhabitants of the valley included the Liksiyu (Cayuse), Imatalamłáma (Umatilla), and Niimíipu (Nez Perce) indigenous peoples. In 1818, Fort Walla Walla (originally Fort Nez Percés ), a fur trading outpost run by Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), was established and operated as an important stopping point in Oregon Country . Abandoned in 1855, it
4182-459: The coureurs des bois permission to scout the distant territory". Despite this refusal, in 1659 Radisson and Groseilliers set out for the upper Great Lakes basin. A year later they returned to Montreal with premium furs, evidence of the potential of the Hudson Bay region. Subsequently, they were arrested by French authorities for trading without a licence and fined, and their furs were confiscated by
4305-660: The 17th century, the French colonists in North America, based in New France , operated a de facto monopoly in the North American fur trade . Two French traders, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers (Médard de Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers), Radisson's brother-in-law, learned from the Cree that the best fur country lay north and west of Lake Superior , and that there
4428-518: The 1818 Treaty settled the 49th degree parallel border only as far as the Rocky Mountains , the HBC was looking for a site further West in case the parallel border would become further extended at the end of the 10 years joint occupancy term. By 1824, the HBC was commissioning an expedition to travel from the Fort George regional headquarter on the southern shore of the Columbia River all the way to
4551-516: The 1880s. During the 1860s, the city established its first businesses and community gathering spaces, a number of which served as the first in Pacific Northwest. The city's first newspaper was one of the first between Missouri and the Cascades , the Washington Statesman , was founded in 1861 . The first bank, Baker Boyer Bank , was the first in the state, was founded in 1869 by one of
4674-414: The 1960s, until it was restored in 1999 and reopened in 2001. As of March 2022 , the hotel was still open. Mill Creek overflowed into Walla Walla and College Place on March 31, 1931, causing $ 1 million in damages. Community volunteers jury-rigged makeshift levees to divert water from buildings during the cleanup which cost roughly $ 100,000. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built
4797-578: The American Fort Hall , 483 km (300 mi) to the east. In 1837, it purchased Fort Hall, also along the route of the Oregon Trail . The outpost director displayed the abandoned wagons of discouraged settlers to those seeking to move west along the trail. HBC trappers were also deeply involved in the early exploration and development of Northern California . Company trapping brigades were sent south from Fort Vancouver, along what became known as
4920-509: The Cayuse, along with 12 others . The site was later designated as Whitman National Monument, a National Historic Site . Catholic missionaries also arrived in the 1840s, and the Catholic ceremonies resonated with the tribe. On July 24, 1846, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Walla Walla. Augustin-Magloire Blanchet was appointed the first Bishop of Walla Walla, but fled shortly after
5043-631: The Columbia River about 30 miles (50 km) west of town. The city lies in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, so annual precipitation is fairly low. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 12.84 square miles (33.26 km ), of which 12.81 square miles (33.18 km ) is land and 0.03 square miles (0.08 km ) is water. Walla Walla has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate according to
Marcus Whitman Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-693: The Columbia River replaced Spokane House in 1825. Fort Umpqua was established in 1832 in present-day southern Oregon after the Willamette River had been explored up toward its headwaters by mainly the NWC. Nisqually House was built during the same year to establish a presence further North on Puget Sound in present-day State of Washington , resulting in Fort Nisqually a few years later closer to present-day Canadian sites. The HBC established Fort Boise in 1834 (in present-day southwestern Idaho) to compete with
5289-534: The East India Company in 1732, which it viewed as a major competitor. Hudson's Bay Company's first inland trading post was established by Samuel Hearne in 1774 with Cumberland House, Saskatchewan . Conversely, a number of inland HBC "houses" pre-date the construction of Cumberland House, in 1774. Henley House, established in 1743, inland from Hudson Bay, at the confluence of the Albany and Kabinakagami Rivers,
5412-622: The Great Grape are a few crops with a rich tradition. Over a century ago on the Island of Corsica , off the west coast of Italy, a French soldier named Peter Pieri found an Italian sweet onion seed and brought it to the Walla Walla Valley. Impressed by the new onion's winter hardiness, Pieri, and the Italian immigrant farmers who comprised much of Walla Walla's gardening industry, harvested the seed. The sweet onion developed over several generations through
5535-419: The HBC controlled nearly all trading operations in the Pacific Northwest region and was based at its headquarters at Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River . Although claims to the region were by agreement in abeyance, commercial operating rights were nominally shared by the United States and Britain through the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , but company policy, enforced via Chief Factor John McLoughlin of
5658-414: The HBC paddle wheeler Distributor were responsible for spreading the influenza virus down the Slave River and Mackenzie River . Less than a decade after the 1918 global flu pandemic , a similar virus spread territory-wide over the summer and autumn, devastating the aboriginal population of the north. Returning from the trip, Banting gave an interview in Montreal with a Toronto Star reporter under
5781-399: The HBC. It became operative for the outfit of 1780 and was the first joint-stock company in Canada and possibly North America. The agreement lasted one year. A second agreement established in 1780 had a three-year term. The company became a permanent entity in 1783. By 1784, the NWC had begun to make serious inroads into the HBC's profits. The North West Company (NWC) was the main rival in
5904-475: The Köppen climate classification system ( Köppen : Csa ; Trewartha : Doak ). It is one of the northernmost locations in North America to qualify as having such a climate. In contrast to most other locations having this climate type in North America, Walla Walla can experience fairly cold winter conditions, though they are still relatively mild for its latitude and inland location. As of the 2020 census , there were 34,060 people and 12,414 householders residing in
6027-482: The Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake in response to the disaster. The dam and lake were instrumental in preventing damage from flooding in 1964, 1996, and 2020. During the Great Depression , a Canadian import duty cut off the main market for Walla Walla's fresh agriculture. John Grant Kelly, who owned the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin at the time, opened the area's first cannery , Walla Walla Canning Company. In 1939, Walla Walla produced roughly $ 5 million of
6150-433: The Royal Navy in the Battle of Hudson's Bay (5 September 1697), the largest naval battle in the history of the North American Arctic. D'Iberville's depleted French force captured York Factory by laying siege to the fort and pretending to be a much larger army. The French retained all of the outposts except Fort Albany until 1713. A small French and Indian force attacked Fort Albany again in 1709 during Queen Anne's War but
6273-435: The Russian-German immigrants is known as "Germantown" or "Russische Ecke (Russian Corner)" to locals, referring to the creek that runs through it as "Little Volga ". The area around Walla Walla College eventually incorporated as its own city, College Place, Washington . German immigrants also grew hops and the city was home to several breweries. By the 1890s, wine, beer, liquor , and tobacco taxes accounted for 90% of
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#17328586181016396-402: The Umatilla Indian Reservation. The United States Army established a presence in a series of military forts beginning in 1856. A community named "Steptoeville" grew around Fort Walla Walla , named for Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe , and later his name was bestowed upon Steptoe, Washington . The fort has since been restored with a museum about the early settlers' lives. Growth in
6519-441: The Walla Walla Library Association. The city also had one of the region's first breweries , Emil Meyer's City Brewery, that also served as a bakery . Downtown also hosted a post office , several hotels, restaurants, a bathhouse and shaving saloon , a liquor store , a drugstore , and several manufactories. During the gold rush, large populations of Chinese settlers arrived in the city from Portland, Oregon , creating
6642-443: The West. The Society floated £2 million in public shares on non-ceded land held ostensibly by the Hudson's Bay Company as an asset and leveraged this asset for collateral for these funds. These funds allowed the Society the financial means to weather the financial collapse of 1866 which destroyed many competitors and invest in railways in North America. In 1869, after rejecting the American government offer of CA$ 10 million,
6765-453: The Whitman massacre. The Diocese of Walla Walla is now a titular see held by Witold Mroziewski , an auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn, New York . In 1855, the Walla Walla Treaty Council was held at Waiilatpu between the Washington Territorial Assembly and the tribal leaders of the surrounding area. Despite the indigenous people citing Tamanwit (natural law), the following year the natives agreed to surrender millions of acres of land for
6888-410: The Whitmans struggled to convert the natives, failed to fulfill promises, and shifted their focus to whites passing through along the Oregon Trail . In 1847, following a deadly measles outbreak, and reports of the Whitmans poisoning the Cayuse, the Whitmans were warned to leave the area because of the Cayuse custom of killing medicine men whose patients died. They refused to leave, and were killed by
7011-436: The agreement that his statements on HBC would remain off the record. The newspaper nonetheless published the conversation, which rapidly reached a wide audience across Europe and Australia. Banting was angry at the leak, having promised the Department of the Interior not to make any statements to the press prior to clearing them. The article noted that Banting had given the journalist C. R. Greenaway repeated instances of how
7134-468: The area of modern-day Canada, and stretches into the present-day north-central United States . The specific boundaries remained unknown at the time. Rupert's Land would eventually become Canada's largest land "purchase" in the 19th century. The HBC established six posts between 1668 and 1717. Rupert House (1668, southeast), Moose Factory (1673, south) and Fort Albany, Ontario (1679, west) were erected on James Bay; three other posts were established on
7257-414: The area, creating a burgeoning farming and mining community. On March 15, 1859, Walla Walla county held its first county commission and election in the community's first church, St. Patrick's Church , which still serves as the city's parish. Following the ratification of the Walla Walla treaty, the commission voted to name the settlement Walla Walla, on November 17, 1859 and the military carried out
7380-421: The basement that required cleanup. The hotel received the Valerie Sivinski Award for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Projects from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation following a major renovation in 2002. The hotel was presented with the 2015 Hotel of the Year Award during the Annual Washington State Wine Awards. The Marc restaurant located in
7503-564: The city was 51.9% male and 48.1% female. As of the 2000 census , there were 29,686 people, 10,596 households, and 6,527 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,744.9 people per square mile (1,059.3/km ). There were 11,400 housing units at an average density of 1,054.1 per square mile (406.8/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 83.79% White, 2.58% African American, 1.05% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander , 8.26% from other races , and 2.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.42% of
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#17328586181017626-403: The city's first council members , Dorsey Syng Baker and his brother-in-law John Franklin Boyer , and as of March 2022, still served as the oldest bank in state. The Pioneer Meat Market, run by partners John Dooley and William Kirkman, was opened during this time and remained there until they sold it to Christopher Ennis in 1882 and founded the Walla Walla Dressed Meat Company. One of
7749-520: The city's revenue, but the alcohol industries died out with Prohibition in the United States . As the city became dependent on its wheat production, merchants in the town financed a railroad to Wallula, Washington , to connect Walla Walla to the Columbia River , completed in 1875. In 1911, Walla Walla adopted a mayor–council government referred to as a "commission" form of government. In 1954, after Sunnyside, Washington adopted another form of government, council–manager government , voted down
7872-399: The city. The population density was 2,478.1 inhabitants per square mile (956.8/km ). As of the 2010 census , there were 31,731 people, 11,537 households, and 6,834 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,477.0 inhabitants per square mile (956.4/km ). There were 12,514 housing units at an average density of 976.9 per square mile (377.2/km ). The racial makeup of the city
7995-461: The coastal fur trade allowed the HBC to impose a uniform tariff on both sides of the Coast Mountains". By 1843, under pressure from the Americans to withdraw further North with the looming Oregon Treaty border negotiation finalized in 1846, and strong of its coastal presence on the northern coast, HBC built Fort Victoria at the southern end of present-day Vancouver Island in southern BC. A well sheltered ocean port with agricultural potential in
8118-421: The company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada, taking possession on behalf of England. The area was named " Rupert's Land " after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the company appointed by the King. This drainage basin of Hudson Bay spans 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi), comprising over one-third of
8241-442: The company approved the return of Rupert's Land to Britain. The government gave it to Canada and loaned the new country the £300,000 required to compensate HBC for its losses. HBC also received one-twentieth of the fertile areas to be opened for settlement and retained title to the lands on which it had built trading establishments. The deal, known as the Deed of Surrender , came into force the following year. The resulting territory,
8364-400: The company diversified into a number of areas, its department store business is the only remaining part of the company's operations, in the form of department stores under the Hudson's Bay brand. The company also established new trading posts in the Canadian Arctic. The medical scientist Frederick Banting was travelling in the Arctic in 1927 when he realized that crew or passengers on board
8487-412: The company was granted a right of "sole trade and commerce" over an expansive area of land known as Rupert's Land , comprising much of the Hudson Bay drainage basin . This right effectively gave the company a commercial monopoly over that area. The HBC functioned as the de facto government in Rupert's Land for nearly 200 years until the HBC relinquished control of the land to Canada in 1869 as part of
8610-440: The company's Columbia District , was to discourage U.S. settlement of the territory. The company's effective monopoly on trade virtually forbade any settlement in the region. Over and above the NWC Fort George headquarters site, the HBC carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC when it merged in 1821 with noteworthy sites: Spokane House , Fort Okanogan and Fort Nez Percés . Fort Colville located further North on
8733-399: The company's profits during the monopoly years. Its trade covered 7,770,000 km (3,000,000 sq mi), and it had 1,500 contract employees. Between 1820 and 1870, the HBC issued its own paper money . The notes, denominated in sterling, were printed in London and issued at York Factory for circulation primarily in the Red River Colony . Although the HBC maintained a monopoly on
8856-428: The conflict played out in North America as well. D'Iberville raided Fort Severn in 1690 but did not attempt to raid the well-defended local headquarters at York Factory. In 1693 the HBC recovered Fort Albany ; d'Iberville captured York Factory in 1694, but the company recovered it the next year. In 1697, d'Iberville again commanded a French naval raid on York Factory. On the way to the fort he defeated three ships of
8979-601: The country's $ 30 million canned green pea industry, and TIME magazine referred to Kelly as the "Father of Peas". Kelly also owned Church Grape Juice Company, a concord grape farm in Kennewick, Washington . Workers went on strike for better wages in September 1949, and Kelly had two employees arrested for speaking to the Tri-City Herald . Church was one of four juice companies in the region to be charged with violations of
9102-515: The death of Walla Walla native Adam West , who gained fame for his portrayal of Batman , the bat signal was projected onto the side of the hotel. The hotel was sold in December 2022 to an investment group with local partners; Seattle-based Columbia Hospitality took over management. The sale was completed during renovations to the Marc Restaurant and shortly after the discovery of a gasoline leak in
9225-552: The decade of the 1770s. These post-date Cumberland House, yet speak to the expanding inland incursion of the HBC in the last quarter of the 18th century. Minor posts also during this time period include Mesackamy/Mesagami Lake (1777), Sturgeon Lake (1778), Beaver Lake Posts. In 1779, other traders founded the North West Company (NWC) in Montreal as a seasonal partnership to provide more capital and to continue competing with
9348-764: The entity that operates Saks Fifth Avenue's physical locations; O5, the operating company for Saks Off 5th stores; The Bay, an eCommerce marketplace and Hudson's Bay, the operating company for Hudson's Bay's brick-and-mortar stores. In July 2024, HBC announced that it would acquire the Neiman Marcus Group for US$ 2.65 billion and fold it into the new flagship entity Saks Fifth Avenue Global. HBC owns or controls approximately 3.7 million square metres (40 million square feet) of gross leasable real estate through its real estate and investment arm, HBC Properties and Investments, established in October 2020. For much of
9471-661: The expedition and brought the two to England to raise financing. Radisson and Groseilliers arrived in London in 1665 at the height of the Great Plague . Eventually, the two met and gained the sponsorship of Prince Rupert . Prince Rupert introduced the two to his cousin, the reigning king – Charles II . In 1668 the English expedition acquired two ships, the Nonsuch and the Eaglet , to explore possible trade into Hudson Bay. Groseilliers sailed on
9594-508: The fall and winter, First Nations men and European fur trappers accomplished the vast majority of the animal trapping and pelt preparation. They travelled by canoe and on foot to the forts to sell their pelts. In exchange they typically received popular trade-goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and the Hudson's Bay point blanket . The arrival of the First Nations trappers was one of
9717-495: The first brick buildings in the city was also Walla Walla's first store, Schwabacher Brothers Store on Main street, which served as the city's grocer, builder supply, and clothes shop. Sigmond Schwabacher, one of the brothers, also served in the city's council. The city's first book store was opened in 1864, and an academic community formed around the city's book collection as the Calliopean Society and later incorporated as
9840-429: The first cargo of fur resulting from trade in Hudson Bay. The bulk of the fur – worth £1,233 – was sold to Thomas Glover, one of London's most prominent furriers. This and subsequent purchases by Glover proved the viability of the fur trade in Hudson Bay. A royal charter from King Charles II incorporated "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay" on 2 May 1670. The charter granted
9963-752: The first step towards the department stores the company owns today. In 2006, Jerry Zucker , an American businessman, bought HBC for US$ 1.1 billion. In 2008, HBC was acquired by NRDC Equity Partners , which also owned the upmarket American department store Lord & Taylor . From 2008 to 2012, the HBC was run through a holding company of NRDC, Hudson's Bay Trading Company , which was dissolved in early 2012. HBC's U.S. headquarters are in Lower Manhattan , New York City, while its Canadian headquarters are in Toronto . The company spun off most of its European operations by August 2019 and its remaining stores there, in
10086-565: The first to explore relatively uncharted territory. They included the lesser known Peter Skene Ogden and Samuel Black . The HBC also operated a store in what were then known as the Sandwich Islands (now the Hawaiian Islands ), engaging in merchant shipping to the islands between 1828 and 1859. Extending the presence it had built in present-day British Columbia northern coast, the HBC reached by 1838 as far North as Fort Stikine in
10209-423: The forced displacement of the remaining natives, under the threat of hanging . On December 20, 1859, the first educational charter was granted to Whitman Seminary, a high school, which opened on October 15, 1866. In 1882, the institution's name was changed to Whitman College , and the legislature issued a new educational charter as a four-year private college. The Mullan Road , the first wagon road to cross
10332-568: The fox fur trade always favoured the company: "For over $ 100,000 of fox skins, he estimated that the Eskimos had not received $ 5,000 worth of goods." He traced this treatment to health, consistent with reports made in previous years by RCMP officers, suggesting that "the result was a diet of 'flour, sea-biscuits , tea and tobacco,' with the skins that once were used for clothing traded merely for 'cheap whiteman's goods. ' " The HBC fur trade commissioner called Banting's remarks "false and slanderous", and
10455-580: The fur trade during the early to mid-19th century, there was competition from James Sinclair and Andrew McDermot (Dermott), independent traders in the Red River Colony. They shipped furs by the Red River Trails to Norman Kittson , a buyer in the United States. In addition, Americans controlled the maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast until the 1830s. Throughout the 1820s and the 1830s,
10578-540: The fur trade. The competition led to the small Pemmican War in 1816. The Battle of Seven Oaks on 19 June 1816 was the climax of the long dispute. In 1821, the North West Company of Montreal and Hudson's Bay Company were forcibly merged by intervention of the British government to put an end to often-violent competition. 175 posts, 68 of them the HBC's, were reduced to 52 for efficiency and because many were redundant as
10701-473: The future of the West. The iconic department store today evolved from trading posts at the start of the 19th century, when they began to see demand for general merchandise grow rapidly. HBC soon expanded into the interior and set-up posts along river settlements that later developed into the modern cities of Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton . In 1857, the first sales shop was established in Fort Langley . This
10824-412: The gold rush died out, the city developed into an agricultural center referred to as the "cradle of Pacific Northwest history", and the "garden city", a popular source for onions , apples , peas , and wine grapes . Italian settlers from Lonate Pozzolo and Calabria regions formed the core of the gardening industry, and settled in neighborhoods known as "Blalock" and the "South Ninth". One of
10947-515: The government. Determined to establish trade in the Hudson Bay area, Radisson and Groseilliers approached a group of English colonial merchants in Boston to help finance their explorations. The Bostonians agreed on the plan's merits, but their speculative voyage in 1663 failed when their ship ran into pack ice in Hudson Strait . Boston-based English commissioner Colonel George Cartwright learned of
11070-615: The high points of the year, met with pomp and circumstance. The highlight was very formal, an almost ritualized "Trading Ceremony" between the Chief Trader and the Captain of the aboriginal contingent who traded on their behalf. During the initial years of the fur trade, prices for items varied from post to post. The early coastal factory model of the English contrasted with the system of the French, who established an extensive system of inland posts at native villages and sent traders to live among
11193-412: The hotel also received the 2015 Grand Award. Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( / ˌ w ɑː l ə ˈ w ɑː l ə / WAH -lə WAH -lə ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington , United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census , estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined population of the city and its two suburbs,
11316-402: The hotel. The then governors of Washington and Oregon, Arthur B. Langlie and Paul L. Patterson , also attended the receiving events, including a motorcade and performances by fourteen area school bands. Lyndon B. Johnson , trumpeter Louis Armstrong , and actress Shirley Temple were also patrons of the hotel. After years of neglect, the hotel was in a state of disrepair and was purchased by
11439-400: The last three decades. In summer 2020, there were over 120 wineries in the greater Walla Walla area. Following the wine boom, the town has developed several fine dining establishments and luxury hotels. The Marcus Whitman Hotel , originally opened in 1928, was renovated with original fixtures and furniture. It is the tallest building in the city, at 13 stories. The Walla Walla Sweet Onion and
11562-470: The main contributions of the Italians to Walla Walla commerce was their vineyards , and soon after, wine tasting rooms, the first two opened in the 1880s by Frank Orselli and Pasquale Saturno . The Italian Walla Walla population was also responsible for growing Washington State's official vegetable, the Walla Walla sweet onion . It was the technique of dryland farming , though, that made Walla Walla
11685-691: The manner of the Dutch fur-trading operations in New Netherland . By adoption of the Standard of Trade in the 18th century, the HBC ensured consistent pricing throughout Rupert's Land. A means of exchange arose based on the " Made Beaver " (MB); a prime pelt, worn for a year and ready for processing: "the prices of all trade goods were set in values of Made Beaver (MB) with other animal pelts, such as squirrel, otter and moose quoted in their MB (made beaver) equivalents. For example, two otter pelts might equal 1 MB". During
11808-549: The mouth of the Rupert River . It later became known as "Rupert House", and developed as the community of present-day Waskaganish , Quebec. Both the fort and the river were named after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the major investors and soon to become the new company's first governor. After a successful trading expedition over the winter of 1668–69, Nonsuch returned to England on 9 October 1669 with
11931-474: The north bank of the Columbia River; it became the HBC base of operations on the Pacific Slope. Before the merger, the employees of the HBC, unlike those of the North West Company, did not participate in its profits. After the merger, with all operations under the management of Sir George Simpson (1826–60), the company had a corps of commissioned officers: 25 chief factors and 28 chief traders, who shared in
12054-405: The population. There were 10,596 households, of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were other forms of households. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
12177-697: The process of selecting onions from each year's crop, targeting sweetness, size and round shape. The Walla Walla Sweet Onion is designated under federal law as a protected agricultural crop. In 2007 the Walla Walla Sweet Onion became Washington's official state vegetable. There is also a Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival, held annually in July. Walla Walla Sweet Onions have low sulfur content (about half that of an ordinary yellow onion) and are 90 percent water. Hudson%27s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company ( HBC ; French : Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson )
12300-574: The region was broken by the first successful large wagon train to reach Oregon in 1843 , led by Marcus Whitman . In the years that followed, thousands of emigrants poured into the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In 1846, the United States acquired full authority south of the 49th parallel ; the most settled areas of the Oregon Country were south of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon. McLoughlin, who had once turned away would-be settlers when he
12423-502: The region was limited due to a ban on immigration to the area due to the constant warring with the natives from the Department of the Pacific 's General John Ellis Wool , who was sympathetic to the natives. In 1858, the department was split, leaving Washington territory under the command of General William S. Harney , who lifted the ban on October 31, 1858. Thousands of pioneers swarmed to
12546-642: The region's breadbasket known for its wheat exports. The cultivating of grains brought hundreds of Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) to the city, building Walla Walla College and the Walla Walla Sanitarium . The SDA population was followed by hundreds of Volga Germans , whose Old Lutheran and Mennonite religions were connected to SDA in Prussia . The immigrants had relied on dryland farming of wheat crops in Volgograd, Russia . The neighborhood built around
12669-547: The region, the report sparked a debate. It ended the myth publicized by Hudson's Bay Company: that the Canadian West was unfit for agricultural settlement. In 1863, the International Financial Society bought controlling interest in the HBC, signalling a shift in the company's outlook: most of the new shareholders were less interested in the fur trade than in real estate speculation and economic development in
12792-496: The town of College Place and unincorporated Walla Walla East , is about 45,000. Walla Walla is in the southeastern region of Washington, approximately four hours away from Portland, Oregon , and four and a half hours from Seattle . It is located only 6 mi (10 km) north of the Oregon border. Walla Walla's history starts in 1806 when the Lewis and Clark expedition encountered
12915-498: The trade. The number of indigo stripes (a.k.a. points) woven into the blankets identified its finished size. A long-held misconception is that the number of stripes was related to its value in beaver pelts. A parallel may be drawn between the HBC's control over Rupert's Land with the trade monopoly and government functions enjoyed by the East India Company over India during roughly the same period. The HBC invested £10,000 in
13038-399: The treaty's many provisions, it required France to relinquish all claims to Great Britain on the Hudson Bay, which again became a British possession. (The Kingdom of Great Britain had been established following the union of Scotland and England in 1707). After the treaty, the HBC built Prince of Wales Fort , a stone star fort at the mouth of the nearby Churchill River . In 1782, during
13161-639: The tribes of the region, learning their languages and often forming alliances through marriages with indigenous women. In March 1686 the French sent a raiding party under the Chevalier des Troyes more than 1,300 km (810 mi) to capture the HBC posts along James Bay. The French appointed Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville , who had shown great heroism during the raids, as commander of the company's captured posts. In 1687 an English attempt to resettle Fort Albany failed due to strategic deceptions by d'Iberville. After 1688 England and France were officially at war , and
13284-476: The vicinity would allow the new regional headquarter to further develop the trade on salmon, timber and cranberries. Trade via the Hawaiian post was also increasing. The Fort Rupert (1849) at the northern end of the island would open up access to coal fields. On the continent mainland, Fort Hope and Fort Yale (1848) were built to extend the HBC presence on the Fraser River as far as navigable. Brigades would link
13407-514: The western shore of Hudson Bay proper: New Severn (1685), York Factory (1684), and Fort Churchill (1717). Inland posts were not built until 1774. After 1774, York Factory became the main post because of its convenient access to the vast interior waterway-systems of the Saskatchewan and Red rivers. Originally called "factories" because the "factor" , i.e., a person acting as a mercantile agent, did business from there, these posts operated in
13530-445: Was $ 31,855, and the median income for a family was $ 40,856. Men had a median income of $ 31,753 versus $ 23,889 for women. The per capita income for the city was $ 15,792. About 13.1% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 22.8% of those under the age of 18 and 10.5% of those aged 65 and older. Though wheat is still a significant crop, vineyards and wineries have become economically important over
13653-406: Was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, 21.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 14.2% was from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.1 males. The median income for a household in the city
13776-449: Was 81.6% White , 2.7% African American , 1.3% Native American , 1.4% Asian , 0.3% Pacific Islander , 9.1% from other races , and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 22.0% of the population. There were 11,537 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had
13899-528: Was a "frozen sea" still further north. Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay in order to reduce the cost of moving furs overland. According to Peter C. Newman , "concerned that exploration of the Hudson Bay route might shift the focus of the fur trade away from the St. Lawrence River , the French governor", Marquis d'Argenson (in office 1658–61), "refused to grant
14022-704: Was also named Friendliest Small Town in America the same year as part of Rand McNally's annual Best of the Road contest. In 2012 and 2013, Walla Walla was a runner-up in the best food category for the Best of the Road. Downtown Walla Walla was awarded a Great Places in America Great Neighborhood designation in 2012 by the American Planning Association . In the 2010s, Walla Walla's brewery industry experienced
14145-409: Was company director, then welcomed them from his general store at Oregon City . He later became known as the "Father of Oregon". The HBC also carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC in present-day central and northern British Columbia with noteworthy sites: Fort Alexandria , Fort d'Épinette (Fort St. John) , Fort St. James , Fort George and Fort Shuswap (Fort Kamloops) . Since
14268-399: Was dependent on Albany River – Fort Albany for lines of communication, was not "finished" until 1768. Next, the inland houses of Split Lake and Nelson Houses were established between 1740 and 1760. These were dependent on York River – York Factory and Churchill River, respectively. Although not inland, Richmond Fort was established in 1749. This was on an island within Hudson Bay. It was titled
14391-572: Was followed by other sales shops in Fort Victoria (1859), Winnipeg (1881), Calgary (1884), Vancouver (1887), Vernon (1887), Edmonton (1890), Yorkton (1898), and Nelson (1902). The first of the grand "original six" department stores was built in Calgary in 1913. The other department stores that followed were in Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon , and Winnipeg. The First World War interrupted
14514-575: Was in The Jolson Story , a musical about the entertainer's life. Some locals and Walla Walla natives often refer to the city in text form with "W2". Walla Walla is located in the Walla Walla Valley, with the rolling Palouse hills to the north and the Blue Mountains to the east of town. Various creeks meander through town before combining to become the Walla Walla River, which drains into
14637-428: Was incorporated on January 11, 1862. The first election was held on April 1, 1862, and Judge Elias Bean Whitman , Marcus Whitman's cousin, was elected as the city's first mayor. The population exploded over the following decade, increasing by 300%, making it the most populous city in the territory, slating it to be the capital until cities surpassed it again, after it was bypassed by the transcontinental rail lines in
14760-537: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The original thirteen-story tower was first planned by architect Sherwood D. Ford in 1927 and constructed shortly thereafter in 1928. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a patron at the hotel during the week of September 19, 1954, while visiting several dams in Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon, bringing state-wide attention to
14883-495: Was lobbying for statehood, local business man Levi Ankeny donated 160 acres of land to the city to serve as the site of a new prison. Legislators approved the site, and in 1887, the state began transferring prisoners to the Washington Territorial Prison from Saatco Prison , a privately owned facility that was shut down in 1888 because of its poor living conditions. The first inmate was a local, William Murphy, who
15006-525: Was serving an 18-year sentence for manslaughter . There have been many prison escapes attempted in the prison's history. In 1887, the prison took in its first woman inmate, and had to improvise accommodations until a separate facility was built nearby. When Washington became a state in 1889, the facility officially became the Washington State Penitentiary, but inmates nicknamed it "The Hill", "The Joint", "The Walls", and "The Pen". As
15129-619: Was unsuccessful. The economic consequences of the French possession of these posts for the company were significant; the HBC did not pay any dividends for more than 20 years. See Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay . With the ending of the Nine Years' War in 1697, and the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht , France had made substantial concessions. Among
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