Walla Walla's Long Fight to Keep Its Fort
Military brass push to abandon the historic garrison, sparking a fierce local campaign to keep the troops in the valley.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
From the outbreak of the Civil War until 1873, Fort Walla Walla was practically abandoned and under the control of the Interior Department. In that year, General Jeff Davis of Indiana visited Walla Walla to inspect the fort, then in charge of Captain Smith. Through the efforts of Mayor James McAuliffe, General Davis consented to send troops, and the First Cavalry was stationed there. Soldiers remained until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, when it was largely deserted. Although General Otis recommended its abandonment in 1896, the order was held in abeyance following protests by the Walla Walla Commercial Club and local political pressure. Now, General Frederick Funston has renewed the recommendation to abandon the fort, claiming it has outlived its usefulness. There is little doubt this will happen unless local leaders—specifically Senator Ankeny—act quickly to secure the post's future.
“It remains to be seen whether or not Senator Ankeny is alive to the interests of his home town as well as to those of other sections of the state.”
The closure of military installations has been a perennial anxiety for frontier towns turned cities. Just as the Commercial Club fought to keep Fort Walla Walla in 1903, modern communities often face an existential crisis when their primary economic anchors—be they military bases, mills, or regional hubs—are threatened by distant federal decision-makers.
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