Marcus Whitman Statue
Bronze sculpture by Avard Fairbanks dedicated in 2006
Description
The first casting of Avard Fairbanks Marcus Whitman statue was placed in the statuary hall of the U.S. Capitol in 1953, a second was placed in the rotunda of the Washington State Capitol at the same time and this third one in Walla Walla was dedicated in 2006.Whitman (1802-1847) was an American physician and missionary in the Oregon Country. Along with his wife Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, a teacher of physics and chemistry, he started a mission, Waiilatpu which means "place of the rye grass," in 1836. It was located in the Walla Walla Valley, just west of the northern end of the Blue Mountains, near the present day city of Walla Walla, Washington. The settlement was in the territory of both the Cayuse and the Nez Percé tribes of American Indians. Marcus farmed and provided medical care. In what became known as the Whitman Massacre, Cayuse tribal members killed the Whitmans at their mission on November 29, 1847. The Cayuse were dying of white mans’ diseases against which they had no immunity. Most of the buildings at Waiilatpu were destroyed. Twelve other white settlers in the community were also killed.
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