Home

General Information

Museum Events

Living History

Membership

Collections / Exhibits

Museum Store

Education

Press Room

Volunteer

Links

Support Us

James McAuliff, Beloved Mayor and the Sheriff Who Tamed the Vigilantes

In the middle 1800s Walla Walla was a robust community of gold miners, soldiers and townspeople who were desperate to have a safe town to live in. Many of the troublemakers were rather cantankerous individuals such as Cherokee Bob who paid little attention to authority. James McAuliff was called upon to help solve the problem, and he rose to the occasion quite well.

McAuliff was an Irish-American veteran of the war with Mexico in the late 1840s who came to the Walla Walla valley at the end of the war. For valor shown in the 1855 Battle of Walla Walla, he was promoted to the rank of captain in the Oregon Volunteers. A successful merchant, farmer, and sawmill owner, he was elected mayor eleven times and became known as the town's most beloved citizen. He often led parades in Walla Walla playing his fife. In the years surrounding the vigilante activity in Walla Walla, he served as sheriff and member of the territorial legislature. McAuliff is portrayed by Whitman Spanish professor, Clark Colahan.

Museum hours are 10 am to 5 pm daily. Admission is free to members, children under 6, and through a reciprocal agreement Tamástslikt Cultural Institute's Inwai Circle cardholders and enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; $3 for children ages 6-12; $6 for seniors (62+) and students; and $7 for adults. Your admission cost can be applied to a membership, which includes free admission to all Living History performances, priced beginning at $25. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703 or email: info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.