Agriculture has been the region's economic mainstay for almost as long as anyone has been writing about the region. If history is defined (narrowly) as the written record, then we begin our saga with Lewis & Clark. Not much agriculture can be expected of travelers, but the next Euro-Americans to follow, the fur traders, were assigned the task of procuring their own food. When the powers that be declared the boys at Fort Nez perces/Fort Walla Walla at the mouth of the Walla Walla River were a little too profligate with their trading with local Indian pople, they received orders feed themselves ... how about a garden?
Some of the Hudson's Bay Company men took Indian wives and retired in the region, building cabins in the area called Frenchtown just west of where Walla Walla is today. Among the crops they grew were grapes for wine making, according to local historian Sam Pambrun, whose family roots go back that far.
The missionaries of the region were perhaps the first commercial farmers, though it's hard to imagine the HBC chaps not trading their produce for something. Marcus & Narcissa Whitman actively sold crops to pioneers from the Oregon Trail. That enterprise ended rather abruptly in 1847, maybe the only time agriculture failed to make a go of it around here.
Following the Indian Wars of the 1850s, the US Army moved in to the neighborhood. Feeding the troops and their horses was an opportunity to make a buck and a few hardy souls ventured into the region to do that. The Army kept a hay ranch in the foothillls of the Blue Mountains (up from Dixie, WA, if I recall correctly) to feed their horses in the winter. It was the Fort that attracted ever more farmers to the region, as well as the near-holy growing conditions.
As gold was discovered up on the Colville, Orofino, and the Boise Basin, and with the Army here to keep the peace, agriculture began to bloom. Nurserymen and orchardists began to ply their trades and wheat was becoming increasingly important. Sleepy little 'Steptoeville,' the community growing around the cantonment at Mill Creek crossing where what is now First & Main Streets downtown, officially became Walla Walla 150 years ago.
Soon, wheat became 'king.' Thereafter, other crops became important like asparagus, peas, and onions, and a major cannery industry grew up. Commercial orchards were next in line. Now we have wine grapes, so perhaps we've come full circle. The Fort outlived its usefulness, but the VA medical facility is still a major employer in town, sharing the grounds of the former military reservation with us and the other entities of Fort Walla Walla Park.
Ah, grapes ... and the wine they produce. This region is unvelievably blessed when it comes to producing deep red wines like Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. For those who imbibe, an opportunity to support the Museum has come to fruition that involves the tipping of a glass, or, at least, the purchase of a bottle. Fort Walla Walla Cellars is offering a special limited release of its 2006 Walla Walla Valley Merlot for just $32/bottle (plus tax). 30% of the retail price will be donated to Museum operations. Wine Spectator magazine has awarded a 90-point rating to this varietal, making it well worth your time and the price. I tasted it yesterday ... it's really good! The tasting room where you may purchase the wine is located at the corner of Main and Spokane Streets in the heart of downtown.
Today's pics include some gents from the Italian Heritage Association harvesting the Museum's vineyard a few years ago for IHA's annual 'Grape Stomp' -they picked about 300#s that year; a photo of the Black Prince (aka 'Cinseault") grapes from our vineyard... they make good wine and great table grapes; an image of the 1820s era Hudson's Bay Company Fort Walla Walla (once described as 'the Gibraltar of the Columbia') that is is Fort Walla Walla Cellars logo; a bottle of Cliff Kontos & Jim Moyer's wine; and an urban wheat wheat harvest, across the street from the Museum, as seen from our vineyard last year ... that may be the last harvest from that location as development ... a.k.a. progress ... is occurring.
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