"11 Ways to Follow Their Trail"
"Clark traded his sword for a horse here. 
Every June the Fort Walla Walla Museum 
is host to Lewis & Clark Days* commemorating 
Indian and Military History"

--Excerpt From Time Magazine, July 8, 2002

(*Lewis & Clark Days is now Fort Walla Walla Days)

September 13, 2006
CNNMoney.com names Walla Walla "best place to retire"
featuring Fort WallaWalla Museum

Mar. 30, 2009 Fort Walla Walla Museum Receives National Grant

Fort Walla Walla Museum was recently notified that it is the recipient of a Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Challenge Cost Share Program grant through the National Park Service. The $5,000 grant will be used to re-install the Museum’s Lewis & Clark in Wallah Wallah Country exhibit in new space. The Museum was one of just three applicants nationwide to receive funding for its project.

A part of the re-installation involves the creation of a new mural as a backdrop to the life-size diorama depicting the gift exchange between Captain Clark and Yellept, a headman of the Wallah Wallah people. Museum staff has been working with a well-know local artist to design and produce a new diorama and mural. The plan is to redesign the exhibit to incorporate more historical details involved the in the April 27, 1806 exchange of a white horse and Captain Clark’s saber and other items.

According to Museum Board member Dr. Bill Jordan, “Grants play a significant role in what we’re trying to accomplish in our expansion project. Nevertheless, it’s vital for the community to realize the ongoing need for support. There are several aspects of the overall plan that still require financial backing.” While the bulk of funding for construction is complete for Phase IA, fundraising for new exhibits, an orientation theater, and children’s hands-on stations including a children’s play fort is still in progress.

April 13 Fort Walla Walla Museum’s Payne Receives State Archaeology Certification

Fort Walla Walla Museum employees recently learned that their Executive Director, James Payne, will be wearing another hat. Payne has become one of just 70 cultural resource management professionals in the nation approved by the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to perform public archaeology in the state of Washington. This status will allow Payne to serve as a consultant for government agencies, private developers, and organizations required to conduct archaeological investigations prior to disturbing the earth for various projects.

Payne began his archaeology work in the 1970s and earned degrees in Anthropology and Quaternary Studies (interdisciplinary program including various earth and biological sciences).  He has performed field work throughout United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, and worked on collections from New Zealand and Hungary. He has worked at hundreds of archaeological sites dating from the late Pleistocene (Ice Age) up to the 1930s. 

Having taught courses at the University of Michigan and Saginaw Valley State University, Payne frequently incorporated students and volunteers into his research. He has expertise in a variety of areas including hunting & gathering cultures and 19th century material culture. As part of his master’s degree work on an Ice Age-era flaked-stone tool production site, Payne learned the ancient craft of flintknapping used to create spear points, arrow points and other stone tools.

Museum Director James Payne demonstrates flintknapping at a recent Fort Walla Walla Days event.

Payne was formerly certified as a professional archaeologist in Ohio and Michigan.“Because there are no other public archaeologists in Walla Walla,” said Payne, “it’s my hope that some projects in our area can eventually benefit from the cost-saving of having a local service.”

For the second time this year, Fort Walla Walla Museum has been notified that it is the recipient of a Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Challenge Cost Share Program grant through the National Park Service. The first $5,000 grant has been designated to re-installation of the Museum’s Lewis & Clark in Wallah Wallah Country exhibit in new space. The second $5,000 award will be used to help create the space in which to put the exhibit, as part of the Museum’s ongoing construction in its Services and Facilities Enhancement Project. According to Lee Smith, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Administrative Officer, the Museum was one of only 12 applicants nationwide which the review committee found to merit funding; Fort Walla Walla Museum was the only organization to receive two awards this year.

A part of the re-installation involves the creation of a new mural as a backdrop to the life-size diorama depicting the gift exchange between Captain Clark and Yellept, a headman of the Wallah Wallah people. Museum staff has been working with a well-known local artist Leslie Cain to design and produce a new diorama and mural. The plan is to redesign the exhibit to incorporate more historical details involved the in the April 27, 1806 exchange of a white horse and Captain Clark’s saber and other items.

According to Museum Board member/Secretary Margaret Buchan, “We are so pleased the Museum was fortunate enough to receive a second significant award. This helps us take another step toward full funding of our project, though we still have a ways to go. While we raised the majority of funding needed for construction of Phase IA, we still seek the means for the Pioneer Gallery, new exhibits, an orientation theater, and children’s hands-on stations including a kid’s play fort.”

Aug. 18 Fort Walla Walla Museum Earns Prestigious Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Fort Walla Walla Museum has again earned national attention with a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) ‘Museums for America’ program. The $52,165 award announced recently will enable the Museum to more fully tell the story of regional development. With an exhibit entitled Through War and Peace: American Military and the People of the Homeland Tribes, visitors will gain an appreciation of the interaction between local Indian peoples, volunteer militias, U.S military and various individuals in the Walla Walla region. The exhibit will span an era from the Lewis & Clark expedition’s first contact with the Homeland tribes through the Treaties of the 1850s through the closure of the fort in 1910.

The exhibit is scheduled for installation in the new Entrance Building, currently under construction. The Museum’s match within the grant’s requirements is $53,501, approximately $22,000 of which has been identified. Fundraising will continue in pursuit of the remainder, as well as for unfunded aspects of Phase 1 as the work proceeds

IMLS grant procurements will include life-like mannequins, replica uniforms to portray various periods of activity, a children’s ‘hands-on’ exhibit and other accoutrements of a modern museum related to the display. The Museum will install objects from its collection including Indian artifacts and regalia, military items from Fort Walla Walla, and other items to bring the story to life for its visitors. IMLS funding will also support research, design, and production of Through War and Peace: American Military and the People of the Homeland Tribes.

Through this exhibit and its accompanying guide, earlier interactions among Indian people, the military, and Walla Walla regional communities will be stressed. Further, the guide book is planned to include stories about the area’s participation in World War II, as well as aspects that continue into current times.

“Even after the 2004-2006 bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Northwest Discovery, many people do not realize the expedition was a military expedition,” said Museum Collections Manager Laura Schulz. “That first contact blazed the trail for much of what was to follow. This exhibit will help showcase the critical relationships over time between regional Indians, Euro-American settlers and the military. Examining each component separately would give an incomplete, potentially false, representation of the area’s history.”

The Museum will use funding from other sources for its new Lewis & Clark diorama and mural, to be created by acclaimed local artist Leslie Cain. The mural’s view will be from the west bank of the Columbia River opposite the mouth of the Walla Walla River. It was at that site that a gift exchange occurred between Captain Clark and Yellept, a headman of the Walla Walla people. Additional matching funds are being sought for this project, as well.

“Walla Walla has long been known as ‘The Cradle of Northwest History,” said James Payne, the Museum’s Executive Director, “and the presence of the fort secured the peace for both settlers and Indian people, allowing both to co-exist in the wake of some wrenching times. We are grateful to IMLS for recognizing the importance of the story. With our grant partners at Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, the museum of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, we’ll be able to tell the ongoing story of cultural interaction and hopefully work toward furthering the healing process between our two communities. We look forward to meeting with our supporters to secure the remainder of the necessary funding.”

Museums for America is IMLS’s largest grant program for museums, providing more than $19 million in grants to support the role of museums in American society. The grants are intended to support high-priority activities that advance the recipient museums’ missions and strategic goals, helping them to serve the public more effectively.

“Fort Walla Walla Museum was selected from 433 grant-requesting applicants and among 167 who received awards,” noted Schulz. “It’s an indication of the Museum’s fundamental strength that IMLS continues to be involved with our future.” The Museum’s mission, to discover, preserve and share Walla Walla regional heritage, includes maintaining its more than 42,000 piece collection in climate-controlled storage. “The Museum takes the mission seriously,” stressed Payne. “We think in terms of forever when talking about maintaining the collection. As individuals, we won’t be around that long, but it remains our responsibility to preserve our heritage for succeeding generations to appreciate. Many of the items visitors will see in this exhibit are absolutely priceless and irreplaceable.”

IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. “With these awards, communities will be able to rescue exceptional objects that link their pasts to their futures’ stated IMLS Director Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice. “This grant program is an important part of IMLS’s Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a multi-year, multi-pronged initiative to protect our national treasures.”

While the Museum’s new Entrance Building nears completion and will be ready for its April 1, 2010 opening day, Through War and Peace: American Military and the People of the Homeland Tribes will not be completely installed until April 1, 2011.

Jan. 11, 2010 Pacific Power Lights the Way

Each season for the past nine years, Fort Walla Walla Museum has offered admission-free tours to public, private and home school students, thanks in large measure to the generosity of corporate sponsors.

In recent years, the Museum received more than 4,000 participants annually in the program from more than 100 schools across Washington and Oregon. “We think the tough economic times for schools—and families—make it even more important to connect kids with their heritage. The region’s knack for pulling itself up by its bootstraps is well documented and a wonderful example for our children,” said Museum Executive Director James Payne. “Eliminating the expense for both schools and students keeps this vital program affordable for tightly strapped school budgets.”

The Museum recently received support for the cause from the Pacific Power Foundation through its local representative, Regional Community Manager Bill Clemens. Clemens presented Payne a check from the Foundation for $3,500. “At Pacific Power, we know children are the future and we are pleased to continue supporting this great program that puts them in touch with our shared past,” said Clemens. “Kids who are connected with their communities this way can help bring us all a brighter future.”

The Museum sends out informational letters about the program to more than 500 schools across the region. Teachers are invited to explore the Museum’s web site, www.fortwallawallamuseum.org/education.htm, before bringing students to explore the Museum. Educators are encouraged to download and distribute to students the Teacher’s Guide to the Museum, as well as a timeline of events for the region and a Visitor’s Guide to Fort Walla Walla Museum, all without fees or copyright worries. The Teacher’s Guide offers pre-visit activities, as well as opportunities to add value to the visit while here and follow-up lessons after returning to class. Museum school tours are designed to match well with both Washington and Oregon mandated curriculum requirements. Schools interested in booking a tour can call the Museum at 509-525-7703 or via email at info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.

“Pacific Power Foundation’s continuing support means a lot to our program and we’re grateful for all they do on our behalf,” said Payne. “Their good will and involvement in our communities help make this entire region a better place to live, work, and visit.”

January 13, 2010 Walla Walla -What Might Have Been the State's Capital
Fort Walla Walla Museum photos were used in historical piece of Mid-Columbia Magazine.

March 25, 2010 Westward Ho!
"Discover a picture of the pioneer past at the Fort Walla Walla Museum Today, Walla Walla is a community that preserves its history and celebrates its agricultural heritage with the Fort Walla Walla Museum, a downtown walking tour, a collection of wineries, and host of other interesting attractions."

May 26, 2010 Art and history, near and far by Sandra Hosking
"Fort Walla Walla Museum in Walla Walla, Wash., opened this year its new main exhibit hall and gift shop."

Jan/Feb 2011 INLAND NW Magazine
Walla Walla noted as having Fort Walla Walla Museum

May/Jun 2011 INLAND NW Magazine
Fort Walla Walla Museum images used in story re: regional women, the museum cited in a story, and travel information information is included

Pacific Power grants $2,000 to Fort Walla Walla Museum
for Phase 1b construction in the
Facilities and Services Enhancement project.