A Final Reunion for Northwest Pioneers
After eighty years apart, the remains of missionary William H. Gray and his wife are reinterred alongside the Whitmans in Walla Walla.
Whitman College, Walla Walla, and pioneers of the entire northwest united Wednesday of this week to do honor to William H. Gray and his wife, famous missionaries of 1836 and among the best known of northwest pioneers. A celebration unique in the history of the northwest took place seven miles west of Walla Walla, the present site of the Whitman monument and the former location of the old Whitman mission. The bodies of Gray and his wife were recently removed from their resting place at Astoria, Oregon, and interred beside those of Dr. and Mrs. Marcus Whitman, thus, after eighty years, reuniting life-long friends.
“A celebration unique in the history of the northwest will take place seven miles west of Walla Walla.”
The Whitman Mission site remains a significant historical landmark in Walla Walla, preserved as a National Historic Site. This story highlights the early efforts by regional institutions to canonize pioneer narratives, a practice that continues to shape our understanding of Pacific Northwest history today.
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