Marc Entze
6-24-2004
Walla Walla and the Mullan Road:
The Development of Transportation in the Northern West
The Walla Walla Country was “the first locality to be differentiated from the whole” of the interior Oregon Country known as the “Great Plain of the Columbia.” The original inhabitants were small groups of nomadic tribes who adopted a lifestyle similar to the Plains Indians following the introduction of the horse, which thrived on the dry grass. Frontier settlement by whites followed a common pattern of exploration, fur trading, missionaries, mining and farming. Donald W. Meinig writes that “each frontier . . . advanced its purposes within a particular framework of ideas regarding the nature of the land.” Among the varied natural features, “settlement was distributed at points connected by rivers and overland trails, a strategic rather than an economic pattern of occupance, and the position of the Walla Walla Valley made it the only continuing nucleus of these . . . frontiers.” The geographical boundaries of the Walla Walla Country created a natural crossroads and Walla Walla developed as the preeminent town of the interior for several decades.
White occupation of the Walla Walla Country began on July 11, 1818 when a building party arrived to construct Fort Nez Perces at the mouth of the Walla Walla River. The site was chosen by Donald Mackenzie, with the Northwest Company, who after a reconnaissance of the interior, proposed the abandonment of Spokane, which he viewed as “useless and expensive drawback upon the trade of the interior.” The new location was much preferred as the Walla Walla Valley was “the main rendezvous for parties departing for and arriving from the several peripheral districts.” The chosen
location also had considerable significance among the Indians as it was their first encounter with the whites and where they had made an informal party of friendship with Lewis & Clark. Located at a key trading point, Fort Nez Perces was described as “the strongest and most complete fort west of the Rocky Mountains, and might be called the Gibraltor of the Columbia.” Control passed from the Northwest Company to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821.
The British maintained control of the interior trade under the flag of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but the American missionaries were trickling into the Oregon Country. At first the missionaries bypassed the Walla Walla Country, settling in the Willamette Valley. In 1835, Dr. Marcus Whitman traveled by wagon to the Oregon Country, along with his wife Narcissa and Henry and Eliza Spalding. After some initial searching, Whitman decided to settle in the Walla Walla Valley, establishing the Waiilatpu Mission along the Walla Walla River, 30 miles inland of Fort Nez Perces. The Spaldings set up a mission along the Clearwater River, near present-day Lewiston, Idaho. Although the missionaries practiced agriculture, their primary objective remained converting the Indians to Christianity. Within two years, additional missions were established at The
Dalles, along the Columbia River; Kamiah, 50 miles east of Lapwai on the Clearwater and Tshimakain, north of Spokane. All five of the missions extended into the interior from the central point of Fort Nez Perces.
The missionaries encountered limited success with the Indians. Agriculture was necessary for the missionaries own subsistence and to demonstrate what they considered to be a civilized lifestyle to the Indians. In addition to the mission site at Waiilatpu, Whitman built a grist mill and established a sawmill on Mill Creek, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. From this settlement Whitman built up a surplus of supplies that he traded to emigrants traveling through on the Oregon Trail to the Willamette Valley. The missionaries contributed significantly to the settlement of the Oregon Country, primarily through their writings back east regarding the progress of their work. Meinig notes that “after 1836 the missionaries were the most important single group in directing attention to this region.” Further, because of their “direct personal interest in settlement possibilities, they were looked upon as reliable sources of information.” However, the large number of whites immigrating to Oregon was met with increasing hostility from the Indians. Tensions grew until November 29, 1847 when Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and twelve others were massacred at Waiilatpu. This event brought about an abrupt end to the missionary era in the Oregon Country.
The Cayuse War, waged to punish the Indians for the Whitman Massacre, and later uprisings in the interior in the mid-1850s, established a strong military presence in the Walla Walla Country. Fort Nez Perces, once so important, was abandoned in 1855, and a new fort, called Fort Walla Walla was constructed the following year near present day Walla Walla. Fort Walla Walla was the headquarters for the military escorts provided to emigrant trains and incoming miners and to quell Indian uprisings. In this new role, the Walla Walla Valley became the key location in the interior of Oregon Territory.
Movement of troops to the Northwest involved either a long and expensive passage by sea, or a dangerous and time consuming overland march. In 1858, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the construction of a military wagon road to connect Fort Walla Walla with Fort Benton, on the Missouri River. The purpose of this road was three fold: first, the road was viewed as necessary for moving troops to the many forts located in the Oregon Country. In addition such a road could be used by immigrants looking to homestead in the northern interior, and lastly, it could be used to transport material for the construction of a northern transcontinental railway.
The idea for a wagon road to connect the headwaters of the Missouri with the furthest navigable point on the Columbia River was considered as early as 1824. However, nothing came of the matter until 1853 when Congress authorized $150,000 for the exploration of four possible northern transcontinental railroad routes. One survey party was headed by Isaac Ingalls Stevens, later governor of Washington Territory. During the winter of 1853, Stevens returned to Washington D.C., but left a small party of men in the mountains under the command of Lieutenant John Mullan. In his Report on the Construction of a Military Road From Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton, Mullan wrote “the margin of authority left me by Governor Stevens was broad and liberal” and that “the most essential thing at that time was a general reconnaissance and exploration of the country before the question of location and construction of a railroad line could be at
all profitably or properly considered.” While considering routes for a possible railroad, Mullan quickly realized that “one of the most essential aids . . . was a good wagon-road line” and locating such a route “became a subject of primary importance.” Stevens was impressed with Mullan’s work and urged Congress to support the construction of the road. Indian hostilities in 1855-56 delayed funding until March 1859, at which time Congress granted an additional $100,000 for the construction of the road. Lieutenant Mullan with a crew of 100 men began work on July 1, 1859.
While constructing the road Mullan’s men discovered gold in the creeks and encountered immigrants bound for the Pacific Coast. Other than a 120 mile stretch through the Bitterroot Mountains, which involved extensive timber cutting and heavy excavation, construction was relatively light and consisted primarily of building bridges. During construction in Montana, Mullan’s crew found “continual indications of gold” and Indians assured him they had found gold in another nearby canyon. Later, near the Coeur d’Alene mission, rumors “set forth that this immediate section was favorable for gold developments.” These initial discoveries would later contribute significantly to the growth and development of the Northwest and in particularly the new town of Walla Walla. Despite being constructed as a military road, miners and immigrants were the primary users of the new road.
While working their way back to Fort Walla Walla from Fort Benton, Mullan noted “we were overtaken by several small parties of emigrants, who had come from St.
Louis by the steamers . . . and were now on their way to Walla Walla.” Mullan aided the emigrants “in everyway way in my power,” including “leaving memorandum notes from point to point [and] setting forth the best camping grounds.” Of the emigrants, Mullan noted they were all a “very proper class of persons, mostly from the western States, where the civil troubles had caused a number to look towards the Pacific in quest of new homes.” At this time, Mullan was putting some finishing touches on the road, especially in the Bitterroots where construction was most difficult. The presence of emigrants traveling on the road must have been satisfying for Mullan, who had worked hard to justify the construction expenses. Reflecting on the emigrants, Mullan wrote, “the safe passage of these emigrants during this season proves the value of this line for emigrant purposes, and will yet cause it to stand in competition with other lines across the continent.” The first emigrants over the Mullan Road carried with them not just household goods, but sawmills and gristmills, machinery essential to permanent settlement. More importantly the emigrant party proved the viability of the northern transcontinental route.
Critical to the success of the Mullan Road was navigation of the Columbia and Missouri Rivers. The emigrants Mullan encountered were passengers on the first steamboats to ascend the Missouri River to Fort Benton, the eastern terminus of the road. From St. Louis to Fort Benton was 3,000 miles of unpredictable water. Dangers included shifting sandbars, snags, scarce fuel supplies and Indian attack; because of the latter it was required that all passengers arm themselves for the voyage in event of an attack. Because of the difficulty and numerous dangers inherent in navigating the Missouri, steamboat arrivals at Fort Benton were sporadic for the first half of the 1860s. However, on the Columbia River regular scheduled service began soon after the first steamboat landed at Wallula.
A year after funding for the road was appropriated the steamboat Colonel Wright was constructed and placed in service on the Columbia River, making a maiden voyage to Wallula in the spring of 1859. This effectively provided service between Walla Walla and Portland, utilizing the Columbia River. A few months later, the Colonel Wright journeyed up the Snake River as far as the mouth of the Palouse River. The purpose of this trip was to forward supplies for Mullan’s road building crew to that point, which would serve as an advance depot. As reported in the Dalles Journal, on June 4, 1859, the Colonel Wright “will make her landing at the mouth of the Palouse, where she will also land the supplies for the road party in route for Fort Benton, under the direction of John Mullan, whose work the steam navigation of Snake River to the point will greatly facilitate and shorten. The year 1859 will be an important one in the history of this section.” These initial and vitally important first trips into rough waters of the interior proved that navigation was possible and justified the construction of the Mullan Road. Transportation, so critical to the development of the interior, was enthusiastically welcomed and the Washington Statesman predicted that the Mullan Road “will yet become one of the most extensively traveled thoroughfares on the western slope.”
Within five years of the Colonel Wright’s first voyages into the interior, numerous other steamboats were constructed and placed into service after the formation of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company on December 19, 1860. Passengers and freight streamed into the interior at a rapid rate. In 1861, 10,500 passengers and 6,290 tons of freight were handled on the Columbia River between Wallula and Portland, a year later, those numbers more than doubled. The OSN enjoyed a complete monopoly on the Columbia River trade. Most all of the supplies shipped into the interior in the early 1860s came from Portland through Walla Walla, including materials for the construction of the Mullan Road. Walla Walla was to enjoy unparalleled growth during the next decade.
The Rise of Walla Walla
In August 1862, Lieutenant Mullan returned with his crew to Walla Walla after making some final improvements to the road. The road cost $230,000 to construct, but Mullan estimated that it would require an additional $70,000 to the finish the road as he
had originally planned. With the nation embroiled with Civil War additional funds were not available; however, in recognition of his accomplishment Mullan was promoted to the rank of Captain on August 11, 1862. Despite the tensions of Civil War, the 1860s were a boom for Walla Walla’s prosperity and the Mullan Road contributed significantly to the cities growth.
Soon after disbanding his expedition, Captain Mullan left for Washington D.C., traveling by stage to Wallula and steamboat down the Columbia River to Portland and overland to San Francisco. In 1862 Walla Walla was already reaping the benefits of being a terminus of the Mullan Road. Mullan remarked of the influx of settlers into the Walla Walla Country. Of these he wrote: “the wilderness of yesterday has to-day given place to
homes” and “the improvements along the banks of the Walla Walla, in the shape of new and additional enclosures for farming purposes . . . have been many, and mark with unerring certainty the future of the Walla Walla Country.” To Mullan the future prosperity of Walla Walla was certain, yet the road builder, initially employed as a surveyor charged with locating a route for the Pacific Railroad, believed Walla Walla could still improve on its transportation network:
It has more than once occurred to me that the Walla Walla River, by a system of locks, could be advantageously used as a line of connection between Wallula and Walla Walla, and one needs but see the long line of wagons and pack trains, heavily freighted for the interior, to become convinced that either this or some more rapid and economical means is positively demanded, in order to connect the heart of the valley with the Columbia River. Economy at the present would argue in favor of converting the river into a canal, but the prospective wants of the country are much more in favor of a railroad connection.
He admitted that some “heavy” bridge work was necessary to span the Walla Walla and Touchet Rivers but he felt the line could be constructed at a cost of $600,000 and was “a project in which every citizen could become interested.” Further, Mullan believed “that another twelve months will not roll around before the matter is taken up with a view to its practical execution.” Mullan’s proposal to construct a railroad from Walla Walla to Wallula was the first publicized plan for railroad construction in the Walla Walla Valley. After submitting his report in Washington in February, 1863, Mullan, newly married, resigned his commission in the army and sailed west, back to Walla Walla to take up farming.
When John and Rebecca Mullan arrived in Walla Walla in August 1863, the town was bustling with the activity of immigrants, miners and packers purchasing supplies along Walla Walla’s rapidly expanding business district. “The budding city of Walla Walla,” wrote noted Walla Walla historian W.D. Lyman, “profited materially by the influx of gold-seekers, who made their way up the Columbia River and thence moved forward to Walla Walla, which became the great outfitting headquarters for . . . the gold country.” Lyman further describes the activity on the streets of Walla Walla by noting “Walla Walla was the scene of the greatest activity: streets were crowded; the merchants were doing a thriving business; and pack trains moved in a seemingly endless procession toward the gold fields.” So many miners poured through Walla Walla that “within a year [1862] more than one and one-half million dollars in gold dust had been shipped from the mining districts.” Walla Walla owed its beginnings to the military and by the mid-1860s Walla Walla’s military connections were making it rich.
- Thomas Edwards writes, “by the early 1860s, connections with the military had helped Walla Walla establish supremacy over an enormous hinterland.” The Mullan Road directed much of the mining wealth through Walla Walla and the “endless procession” of pack trains outfitted in Walla Walla supplied every major mining district in the northern West. From Walla Walla roads and pack trails led to mines in southern British Columbia, eastern Washington and Oregon, Idaho and western Montana. Most of the miners went through Walla Walla primarily because the recently constructed Mullan Road provided an easy and direct route of travel from the Columbia River to the mines.
The Mullan Road provided a key transportation link between Fort Walla Walla and Fort Benton but it did not eliminate many of the hardships overland emigrants faced on other routes. Boosters from a Walla Walla newspaper called the Road “a trip for health, pleasure, and bold Rocky Mountain Scenery.” However, those who actually made the journey thought much different. After construction, the road quickly fell into disrepair, making wagon travel exceedingly difficult, and according to one traveler “any other method of crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic is preferable to the Mullen [sic] Route.” Damage to livestock and equipment was not uncommon. The constant need for maintenance, which was seldom performed, combined with the rugged terrain restricted the development of the Mullan Road and relegated it to the status of a pack trail.
In the early 1860s, soon after construction of the Road was completed, many wagon trains did make the journey from Fort Benton to Walla Walla. Even with the road in good shape, it was still a challenge to take a wagon over the Road. Lieutenant Kautz, a member of the only large military deployment to use the road, known as the “Blake Expedition,” frequently commented on the inability of the oxen to pull the wagons, and the time consuming necessity of “doubling the teams” for the hills. On August 16, 1860 he wrote in his diary, “We made a short march on account of the fatigue of yesterday to the cattle. The men succeeded in marching very well, and we would average twenty miles per day if the oxen could make it.” On August 31, after marching only three and a half miles all day, Lieut. Katz admitted “the road was very rough and rocky. The valley of the river has become quite narrow, and grazing ground limited.” The following day, after a “very late start” he noted “our road lay over high, steep hillside, cuttings dangerous in many places.” On September 7, in the country of the St. Regis Borgia, Lieut. Katz wrote
The road is very rough and bad on account of the stumps, and in one place crosses over a spur of considerable height. About half the wagons and the rear guard failed to reach camp. The Maj. sent back twenty men from each company to assist the wagons, but as might have been expected, they were of no assistance.
For the soldiers on foot, the road provided for an easy march and several of the men spent their afternoons fishing in nearby streams.
Despite all the short marches necessary to rest the oxen, the Blake Expedition marched from Fort Benton to Fort Walla Walla in 57 days. Certainly without the delay of doubling teams and short marches to rest the oxen, the trip would have been much quicker. It is interesting to note that the difficulties faced by the Blake Expedition occurred very early in the annals of the Mullan Road, when it must be assumed the road was in as good repair as it was likely to be. In spite of the numerous hardships, Lieut. Katz noted some favorable conditions of the road. On August 18, after crossing the Divide near the Prickly Pear Creek, he wrote “We marched seventeen miles through a beautiful country and a good road. The divide is the most practical pass I ever saw in any mountainous country.” The country the Mullan Road traverses contained severe challenges for the engineer and construction crews. Despite their efforts, the terrain dictated the nature of the Road.
The diary of Henry Leug, written while traversing the Mullan Road in 1867, echoes many of the observations of Lieut. Katz. Mr. Leug made the trip later in the year than the Blake Expedition, not crossing the Bitterroot Mountains until October. Downed trees were a constant problem for wagon roads through mountainous terrain, and the Mullan Road was no exception. Leug noted “the timber stands very thick . . . many dead tree trunks blocked the road and had to be cleared away.” Due to the late season, the weather was a factor and it frequently rained. On October 27, Leug wrote:
The road ran valley upwards with big mountains on each side. We were obliged to cross more than a dozen times a strong flowing stream, swollen from the rains, because the originally built log bridges were long since swept away. The rocks lying in the bed of the stream, often of a large size, made the crossings difficult and dangerous, so that sometimes we could scarcely get through. . . . Four wagons of the train remained behind on account of the bad weather. The timber here stands thicker again than yesterday. . . . This evening it is raining a little intermittently; sometimes the stars show themselves.
What had been difficult for Lieut. Katz and the Blake Expedition in the middle of the summer was proving to be nearly impossible for the train of immigrants two months later.
The pack animals were never replaced entirely by wagons. Over the most heavily traveled roads, such as the Colville Road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Colville
and between Walla Walla and the steamboat landing at Wallula, wagons did handle most of the freight. Even after steamboats became common on many of the rivers and lakes, the pack animal connected the points of navigation. In some cases the animals were taken aboard the vessels with their loads left strapped to their backs and ferried to the head of navigation where they proceeded on the trail. Not until the full-scale construction of railroads did the pack trains lose their superiority.
Without the pack trains, the Mullan Road likely would have seen little traffic. The road quickly fell into disrepair; washed out bridges, over grown brush and fallen trees made wagon travel exceedingly difficult. Government funds for maintaining the road were not available due to the costs and concerns of the Civil War. Even after the War no repairs were made to the road until the late 1870s, by which time railroad construction was well underway. However, for a brief period in the mid-1860s, the Oregon Steam Navigation company extended navigation beyond the landings at Wallula deep into the interior in an attempt to improve overland transportation.
The Clark Fork Route: Alternative to the Mullan Road
At an average of ten million dollars per year, the Montana gold trade was very lucrative and competition for the trade developed between the principal supply centers of the northern West: San Francisco, Portland and St. Louis. Portland and St. Louis were the principal players, both established on navigable rivers on the fringes of the gold country. San Francisco was a powerful contender, but lacked direct connection to the mines. Portland controlled navigation on the Columbia and Snake Rivers and St. Louis dominated the Missouri River trade to Fort Benton.
Despite the Federal Government’s funding of the construction of the Mullan Road between Walla Walla and Fort Benton, alternative routes to the gold fields existed. These routes were an effort to find easier and faster travel through the interior. The most notable alternative was the Clark Fork Route. This route utilized steamboat transportation for a much greater distance than the Mullan Road, with steamboats navigating Pend Oreille Lake and the Clark Fork River to within 125 miles of Fort Benton. Although the Clark Fork Route lasted only three years, from 1866 to 1869, it illustrates the shortcomings of the Mullan Road and the demand for improved transportation networks.
The Clark Fork Route is the result of Portland business interests trying to capture the very profitable mining trade of Montana and Idaho. Carlos Schwantes writes that it “cost nearly the same . . . to ship goods from Portland to Montana as it did from Saint Louis or San Francisco.” The primary route to the mines was a long overland trip via the Mullan Road. St. Louis depended on Missouri River navigation to reach the mines, and Portland the Mullan Road from Walla Walla. Both of these routes faced severe difficulties: the Missouri River was navigable for only a few short months of the year and faced many dangers including Indian attacks and constant threat from snags and sand bars on the river. The Mullan Road was a difficult and non-maintained passage through the Bitterroot Mountains. Because of these problems, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company (OSN), organized in Portland, desired to increase steamboat navigation to cut transportation costs and attract more of the trade to Portland and away from St. Louis.
The OSN created the Oregon and Montana Transportation Company in 1865 to organize their plans for inland navigation. Almost immediately work was begun on a new steamboat, the Mary Moody, for operations on Pend Oreille Lake. The machinery from the retired Colonel Wright, the vessel which pioneered navigation on the Columbia, Snake and Clearwater Rivers, was freighted overland to Pend Oreille Lake. Lumber for the new boat was sawed from timber on location. Just four months after construction began, the Mary Moody was completed and plying the waters of the lake. Two additional steamboats, the Cabinet and Missoula, were constructed for service on the Clark Fork River. Now supplies from Portland could by pass Walla Walla and the Mullan Road in favor of the White Bluffs landing, 50 miles north of Wallula on the Columbia River. The OSN believed that they could capture much of the Montana trade from St. Louis because of the many dangers and short navigable season on the Missouri River.
With the steamboats in service, the OSN created a “chain” of navigation reaching from Portland far into Montana. Steamboats from Portland landed at White Bluffs, the supplies were freighted overland to the southern shore of Pend Oreille Lake, and put aboard the Mary Moody. The Mary Moody then navigated the 85 miles across the lake to the Cabinet Rapids, where the cargo was unloaded for a short portage and loaded on the Cabinet. From the Cabinet Rapids, the Clark Fork was navigable to Thompson Falls, where another portage was undertaken to the Missoula which steamed up the Clark Fork River as far as the mouth of the Jocko River, 125 miles from Fort Benton. Business on the Clark Fork Route was brisk. On her first trip, the Mary Moody loaded 85 pack animals, five tons of freight and fifty passengers. The Montana Post praised the new steamboat service, noting that “a continuous line of water travel, nearly two-hundred miles in length, and avoiding the very worse and only bad portions of the [Mullan Road] . . . will thus be offered.”
Despite the intentions and initial success of the Clark Fork Route, it existed for only three years and was lightly used. Most of the packers much preferred outfitting from Walla Walla, where they could enjoy civilian comforts not found in the gold fields. As Alexander Campbell McGregor notes, “Walla Walla simply had too many . . . advantages for other nearby rivals to compete.” In an effort to attract more business to the Clark Fork Route, the OSN offered preferential rates for their route with no affect other than to outrage Walla Walla citizens. The Statesman, a Walla Walla newspaper, summed up local sentiment in an 1866 editorial, “The Pend Orielle route is the greatest humbug of all the bilks of which this country is so prolific, and which its father, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, has begotten for purposes vile as the prostitution of its own offspring.” Had the Clark Fork Route succeeded, Walla Walla may never have enjoyed its prosperity and status. However, the Clark Fork Route failed, not because of Walla Walla’s prominence alone, but because of the success of Missouri River navigation and the construction of the first transcontinental railway in 1869.
The OSN had counted on the many difficulties of Missouri River navigation for the success of the Clark Fork Route, assuming traffic on the Missouri would remain sporadic. While such an assumption seemed logical at the time, they could not have been more mistaken. Steamboat landings at Fort Benton increased from fewer than five per year from 1860-1865, to thirty-one in 1866. As a result, freight tonnage unloaded at Fort Benton in 1866 was more than double the cumulative total of the previous five years. This success severely hampered the OSN’s attempts to monopolize the Montana trade.
While the steamboats of St. Louis and Portland firms were churning up their respective water courses, the Union Pacific Railroad was building westward to a meeting with the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah. Construction was completed in 1869, and on May 10, the gold spike was driven, connecting the East and West coasts by rail. The affect of the transcontinental railroad was felt almost immediately by the steamboat companies. Due to the competition from the Missouri River steamboats, and the packer’s preference for outfitting in Walla Walla, the OSN abandoned their operations on the Clark Fork Route in 1869. 1869 was a difficult year on the Missouri River too; the water level reached the lowest point of the decade. As a result, only eighteen steamboats succeeded in reaching Fort Benton, and only after extreme difficulty. Six steamboats were forced to turn back, unable to make it past Dauphin’s Rapids. Shipments from the east were now transferred to Union Pacific trains and unloaded at Corrine, Utah, and shipped northward by wagon. Although steamboats continued to call on Fort Benton, the glory days of the river were over.
The Clark Fork Route never really stood a chance of dominating the Montana gold trade, but it illustrates the desire for a more efficient transportation network. Fort Benton challenged Walla Walla’s supremacy and significant freight was shipped to St. Louis from 1865-1869. The Missouri River steamboats proved remarkably adept at avoiding and overcoming the numerous hindrances to navigation. However, by 1866 Walla Walla was firmly established as the largest city in the northern West, and its influence helped keep the Montana traffic routed on the Mullan Road with downriver shipments to Portland. Despite the poor condition of the Mullan Road, pack trains made heavy use of the route from Walla Walla over the Bitterroot Mountains to Montana. And finally, the completion of the transcontinental railroad instantly began a reorientation of interior freighting. The railroad did not have to contend with low water, or costly and time consuming portages. All these factors combined to force the OSN to abandon the Clark Fork Route. Although the Mary Moody continued to steam across Pend Oreille Lake for several more years, the Clark Fork Route was destined to be a short-lived experiment in frontier transportation development.
Center for Transportation
That Walla Walla was the center of transportation during the 1860s was undisputed. Despite the search for a bypass of the established Columbia River – Walla Walla – Mullan Road route, Walla Walla continued to prosper. Even with the Mullan Road deteriorating, pack trains continued to resupply in Walla Walla. Perhaps partially in response to the Clark Fork Route and in acknowledgement of the poor condition of the road, in 1866 the Legislature of Washington Territory wrote Congress regarding the importance of the Mullan Road:
The opening of this road is of the greatest, most vital importance to the people of Washington, Idaho and that portion of Montana lying west of the Rocky Mountains. There is a constant stream of population flowing into the region of country lying along and adjacent to this so-called Mullan Road. The immigrant who is seeking farming land comes on down to the Walla Walla and other rich valleys lying along the Western terminus of the road and thence on to Puget Sound.
The memorial continues by citing the heavy activity of trade and transportation at Walla
Walla, which just tens years earlier existed as a military fort with a handful of civilians
providing the army with grain, beef and other supplies locally obtained:
From January 1 to November 15, 1866, 1,500 head of horses have been purchased by individual miners at Walla Walla horse markets, 2,000 miners have outfitted at Walla Walla, 5,000 head of cattle were driven from Walla Walla to Montana, 6,000 mules have left Walla Walla and the Columbia River loaded with freight for Montana; fifty-two light wagons with families have left Walla Walla for Montana, thirty-one wagons with immigrants have come through from the states . . . not less than 20,000 persons have passed over the Mullan Road to and from Montana during the past season; $1,000,000 in treasure has passed through Walla Walla and Wallula during the same period.
There is some concern that the legislatures may have exaggerated the numbers in the memorial. However, the numbers of pack trains reported arriving and departing in Walla Walla was closely monitored by the Walla Walla Statesman. With reports of 200 animals being outfitted for the Montana mines and departing on the Mullan Road within a single week, the numbers cited in the Memorial appear plausible. There is not an official record, but the number of pack trains departing Walla Walla remained very high through the 1860s. As mining activity increased in Montana, the demands for staple products increased. In response to this demand, farm production increased in the Walla Walla Valley, adding to the amount of freight shipped to the mines. With this level of activity it is no wonder that Captain Mullan felt confident that Walla Walla would soon be constructing a railroad.
Agriculture Prosperity and Railroad Construction
To meet the demands of mining camps, farming and manufacturing developed at a rapid pace in the Walla Walla Valley. In addition to the manufactured supplies produced in San Francisco or Portland and sold in Walla Walla, surplus goods grown in the Walla Walla Valley including flour, apples, bacon and beans were transported to the mines. Beef was shipped over the Mullan Road “on the hoof.” Flour was perhaps the most common product packed to the mines. The extent to which flour was shipped varied as increased crops were grown in Montana in the late 1860s. However, in 1869 a crop failure caused a great demand for flour in the mining camps. It was reported that five or six pack trains were leaving Walla Walla daily, delivering as much as 20,000 -30,000 pounds of flour per week! In another instance, a pack train of thirty animals left Walla Walla for Montana loaded entirely with fruit. However, the mining boom of the early 1860s was playing out by 1870. The downturn in mining in the 1870s and the subsequent development of agriculture encouraged Walla Walla farmers to seek new markets.
According to Donald Meinig, “the rapid expansion of agriculture in the Walla Walla [Valley] . . . could only have been accomplished through an almost complete reorientation to new markets.” These new markets involved the downriver shipment of wheat to Portland, where it was transferred from steamboat to ocean going vessel and shipped to England. Initially the wheat was milled into flour in Walla Walla and sold at distant markets. The first “downriver” shipment from Walla Walla to Portland occurred in the spring of 1867, and then the markets were limited to the Boise Basin and John Day mining trade. However, in June 1,000 barrels of Walla Walla flour sold for a profit at San Francisco, and as a result downriver shipments rapidly increased. Wheat exports between Portland and Liverpool were established in 1868, creating a vast new market for Walla Walla farmers. The resulting Walla Walla – Portland – Liverpool trade “made up the longest market connection ever established in the history of wheat exporting.” To meet the demands of this new market, Walla Walla needed a railway.
As Captain Mullan observed in 1862, the freight hauled between Wallula and Walla Walla was significant, averaging about 150 tons per week. That same year a group of local businessmen chartered the Walla Walla Railroad Company to build to the steamboat landing at Wallula. Nothing came of that company; however, in 1868, the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad was incorporated. The WW&CR hired General James Tilton to survey the right of way for the new railroad. General Tilton completed the survey and presented it to the WW&CR on May 20, 1871, estimating the total cost of construction to be $673,367.31. The total length of the right of way surveyed was 31.65 miles and included 5,000 feet of pile bridging. Unfortunately it is unknown how seriously Mullan studied the prospect of constructing a railroad between Walla Walla and Wallula, but his 1862 estimate of $600,000 proved remarkably accurate.
Financial problems prohibited construction until 1872, when grading finally began. In order to cut expenses, the WW&CR opted to construct a narrow gauge railway and use wood rails rather than the recommended 45 pounds per yard steel rails imported from England. The ties were “gained” to fit the 4x6 inch wooden rails. Because the wood rails wore poorly, strap iron one-half inch thick by two inches wide was laid onto the rails and strapped at the ends. This too proved ineffective as the strap iron worked loose at the ends and broke through the bottoms of the cars. This could have resulted in disastrous consequences for passengers, but fortunately no lives were loss due to these “snakeheads.”
In March 1874 the first section of railroad, between Wallula and Touchet, roughly the midway point to Walla Walla, opened for service. Service between Touchet and Wallula was steady with 4,000 tons of wheat shipped to the landing and over 1,100 tons of merchandise brought back to Touchet. The shipments provided the WW&CR with the needed funds to purchase iron rail and the first twenty miles of the 26 pound per yard Welsh rail was shipped to Wallula at a cost of $65,000. Finally, in 1875, construction crews reached Walla Walla and the first train arrived on October 23rd.
Construction costs for the WW&CR were much lower than the estimates provided in General Tipton’s survey. The entire cost of the railway, including the construction of facilities and purchase of equipment, with five locomotives rather than two, was $356,134.85. It is unknown how many freight cars were owned by the WW&CR, only that there were “enough cars to handle all freight expeditiously.” Thus Doctor Baker was able to construct and equip the WW&CR, almost entirely with his own funds, for nearly half of the estimated expense in the survey.
Prior to the completion of the WW&CR, an average of 2,500 tons was freighted from Walla Walla to Wallula. In the first full year of service the WW&CR shipped 9,155 tons of wheat and 1,126 tons of merchandise. Three years later the wheat shipments had nearly tripled to 27,365 tons and merchandise shipments reached 10,454 tons. Clearly the WW&CR played an enormous role in Walla Walla’s continuing development.
The WW&CR continued the construction of pioneer transportation systems in the Walla Walla Country initiated by the Mullan Road. Like the Mullan Road, funds were scarce, yet despite this frustration, the WW&CR compromised by substituting construction materials in order to complete the railway. When Mullan proposed the construction of the railroad between Wallula and Walla Walla, he approached the project from the standpoint of a professional with seven years of field experience. This allowed him to make an estimate that was remarkably close to that of the actual WW&CR survey.
Clearly Mullan was correct when he wrote in 1862 that Walla Walla was “fast developing in all the elements of material, social and political prosperity.” It is only
fitting that Walla Walla, the richest city in the interior, would build the first railroad in the northern West. Because of its prominence as a military fort and supply point, Walla Walla was the only town of significant development that could seriously consider railroad construction. While most towns in the interior consisted of hastily constructed wood buildings at the end of a muddy trail, Walla Walla had a business district several blocks long that provided the accouterments of civilization. All of this existed because Walla Walla was the center of transportation, the hub of a vast network of trails and the western terminus of the Mullan Road. In large part Walla Walla’s achievements were due to Lieutenant Mullan’s determination to construct a wagon road through 624 miles of wilderness.
Bibliography
Baker, W. W., “The Building of the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad,” Washington Historical Quarterly Vol.14, No.1, January 1923: 3-13.
The most complete single source on the construction of the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad. Written by the son of the builder of the railroad by using personal accounts and diary entries from his father.
Crandall, Lulu Donnell, “The ‘Colonel Wright,’” Washington Historical Quarterly, Vol.7, No.2 (April 1916), 126-132.
The “Colonel Wright” was the first steamboat to navigate the rapids of the Snake River and was used to transport supplies for Mullan’s crew to the crossing of the Snake River at Lyon’s Ferry. In addition, the “Colonel Wright” pioneered navigation on the upper Columbia River and the Clearwater River.
Edwards, G. Thomas, “Walla Walla: Gateway to the Pacific Northwest Interior,” in Montana, The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 40 Summer 1990: 28-43.
This article examines the role of Walla Walla in the development of the Northern West. It is valuable as a historical overview to the role Walla Walla played as the southern terminus of the Mullan Road and as trade center for the vast interior region.
Howard, Addison, “Captain John Mullan,” Washington Historical Quarterly, Vol.25, No.3, (July 1934), 185-202.
A very good biographical sketch of the life of John Mullan. Howard covers the building of the Mullan Road, but also takes his life beyond that achievement. Mullan was involved with several other endeavors that are discussed, including the loss of his Walla Walla farm to one of his brothers.
Kautz, August V., “From Missouri to Oregon in 1860: The Diary of August V. Kautz,” Martin F. Schmitt, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Vol.37, No.? (July 1946), 193- 230.
This diary covers Lieutenant Kautz’ (9th Infantry) journey from St. Louis to Fort Benton by steamboat, and on to the Coeur d’Alene mission. The four steamboats employed in transporting the 350 men became the first steamboats to land at Fort Benton. Kautz took part in the only major military expedition to use the Mullan Road. The expedition was led by Major Geoarge A. H. Blake and became known as the “Blake Expedition.” The purpose of the expedition was to “test” the Mullan Road. Lieut. Kautz met Capt. Mullan on several occasions and wrote his impressions of Mullan, as well as observations of the scenery, trouble with steamboats on the Missouri River and the daily details of the journey. This diary is reprinted and dates from May 1 to September 15, 1860.
Lewty, Peter, J., To the Columbia Gateway: The Oregon Railway and the Northern Pacific, 1879-1884, Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1987.
A very good survey of the period of railroad development in the Columbia Plain. Lewty discusses the transition from steamboating to railroads and his text is bolstered with newspaper accounts and reports.
Lueg, Henry, “The Northern Overland Route in 1867: Journal of Henry Lueg,” C. S. Kingston, ed., Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Vol.41, No.3 (July 1950), 234-253.
This article discusses the overland journey of Henry Lueg, who traveled by wagon from St. Paul to Fort Benton, and then down the Mullan Road to the Spokane area, where they took the “Kentuck Road” to Walla Walla. From Walla Walla Mr. Lueg traveled to Wallula and then by steamboat to Portland and there lived the rest of his life. The editor cites Mr. Lueg’s journal extensively, but regrettably it is not printed in entirety.
Lyman, W. D., An Illustrated History of Walla Walla County, State of Washington, W.H. Lever, 1901.
Lyman is noted for his multi-volume histories of Walla Walla. The volumes are noted for their in depth referencing of primary sources, material which in some cases have been lost to fires or other causes. In addition to providing a detailed overview of the economic, political and social history of Walla Walla, Lyman wrote extensive biographies of early Walla Walla citizens.
McGregor, Alexander Campbell, The Economic Impact of the Mullan Road on Walla Walla, 1860-1883, Honors Thesis, Whitman College, 1971.
McGregor’s thesis is the most complete single source I have found on the Mullan Road. The focus is on the economic development and impact of the road on the Walla Walla Country; however, the final two chapters detail later uses of the road, which include “The Mullan Road and Livestock Drives: 1862-1883” and “The Mullan Road Becomes an Eastern Washington Thoroughfare: 1872-1883.” The bibliography to this thesis is extremely useful for further research.
Meinig, Donald W., The Great Columbia Plain: A Historical Geography, 1805-1910, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1995.
This is the definitive work of interior settlement, transportation and development. Meinig does not discuss the Mullan Road in depth, but his account remains the only reference I have found regarding Mullan’s proposal to construct a canal from Wallula to Walla Walla.
---- The Walla Walla Country: 1805-1910 A Century of Man and the Land, Doctoral Thesis, University of Washington, 1953.
The Walla Walla Country is considered to be the land lying south of the Snake River, to the base of the Blue Mountains and to the divide separating the Walla Walla River and Umatilla River drainages near present-day Athena, OR. This vast swath of land includes what is now Walla Walla County, in Washington state and the northern part of Umatilla County, in Oregon state. This area was the earliest settled and farmed regions in the interior Oregon Country, and dominated all trade until the completion of transcontinental railroads, most notably the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883. Meinig’s dissertation provides a detailed look at this very important region.
----, “Wheat Sacks Out to Sea,” Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Vol.45 No.1 (January 1954): 13-18.
Meinig analyzes the development of the export wheat trade in Walla Walla. Agriculture in the Walla Walla Valley developed in response to the trade with the mining districts, and after the mines played out allowed Walla Walla to continue to prosper.
Mullan, Captain John U.S.A., “From Walla Walla to San Francisco,” reprinted in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 2 (June 1903), 202-226.
After completing the Mullan Road, John Mullan returned to Washington D.C. to file his report. He made several observations about the Walla Walla Country as he traveled and they were published in a Walla Walla newspaper. His remarks are significant for they are the first printed call for a railway in the Walla Walla Country.
----, Report on the Construction of a Military Road from Fort Walla-Walla to Fort Benton, Fairfield, WA: Ye Galleon Press, 1998.
The report issued by Captain Mullan upon his return to Washington D.C. from building the road. While the report of the road construction is packed with information, many of the appended documents provide a wealth of additional detail regarding numerous observations of the region the Mullan Road passes through. Of particular use to this paper are the sections entitled “Itinerary of Route” in which Mullan lists suggested camp spots, etc. Also useful is his “Recommendations for Travelers.” In this section Mullan provides advice on necessary equipment for traveling over the Road, which include recommended hand tools and the best animals for packing.
Oviatt, Alton B., “Steamboat Traffic on the Upper Missouri River, 1859-1869,” Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Vol.40, No.2 (April 1949), 93-105.
This is an in-depth study of steamboats on the Missouri River during the heyday of the river traffic. Oviatt accounts for the difficulties in navigation, as well as the extremely high profits made by steamboat contracts. It provides an important look at the rapid increase and sharp decline of the Missouri River as the primary outlet for the Montana gold fields.
Schwantes, Carlos, A., Long Day’s Journey: The Steamboat & Stagecoach Era in the Northern West, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999.
Schwantes provides a sweeping survey of transportation in the pre-railroad northern West. Although the text is very readable, it does not contribute new information to transportation studies. The strength of this book is its lavish illustrations, obtained from numerous collections which depict the dangers and excitement of frontier development.
Talkington, Henry L., “Mullan Road,” Washington Historical Quarterly, Vol.7, No.4 (October 1916), 301-306.
Talkington’s article provides a good overview of the construction and importance of the Mullan Road. He discusses the importance of the road and the development of the region as a whole as a result.
Throckmorton, Arthur L., Oregon Argonauts: Merchant Adventurers on the Western Frontier, Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1961.
The frontier merchants could make huge profits supplying remote towns and mines with supplies, but they also overcame incredible difficulties to obtain their products for sale. This is an account of how the merchants contributed to the development of the Northwest. For this paper, chapter 12, entitled “Gold from Idaho and Montana” was particularly helpful.