1804Infrastructure
Walla Walla: Portrait of a Western Town, 1804–1899.
1806Culture
== History ==
=== Native history and early settlement ===
Walla Walla's history starts in 1806 when the Lewis and Clark expedition encountered the Walawalałáma (Walla Walla p...
1818Military
In 1818, Fort Walla Walla (originally Fort Nez Percés), a fur trading outpost run by Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), was established and operated as an important stopping point in O...
1846Government
On July 24, 1846, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Walla Walla.
1847Military
In 1847, following a deadly measles outbreak, and reports of the Whitmans poisoning the Cayuse, the Whitmans were warned to leave the area because of the Cayuse custom of killin...
1854Architecture
Cropp (1854-1933) was the promoter and founder of the Walla Walla Hospital built in 1890, which later became the Benveniueu Apartments, named for the old Cropp estate near Frede...
1855Infrastructure
Abandoned in 1855, it is now underwater behind the McNary Dam.
1856Military
The United States Army established a presence in a series of military forts beginning in 1856.
1858Culture
In 1858, the department was split, leaving Washington territory under the command of General William S.
1859Civil Rights
On March 15, 1859, Walla Walla county held its first county commission and election in the community's first church, St.
1860Infrastructure
The Mullan Road, the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains into the Pacific Northwest, tied Walla Walla to more mining opportunities, and after gold was discovered in 18...
1861Government
The city's first newspaper was one of the first between Missouri and the Cascades, the Washington Statesman, was founded in 1861.
1862Government
=== Gold rush and growth ===
Walla Walla was incorporated on January 11, 1862.
1864Government
The city's first book store was opened in 1864, and an academic community formed around the city's book collection as the Calliopean Society and later incorporated as the Walla ...
1872Military
His family came to Washington in 1872, making it westward to American Falls, Idaho, driving a team of oxen.
1875Architecture
As the city became dependent on its wheat production, merchants in the town financed a railroad to Wallula, Washington, to connect Walla Walla to the Columbia River, completed i...
1882Government
In 1882, the institution's name was changed to Whitman College, and the legislature issued a new educational charter as a four-year private college.
1886Crime
In 1886, while Washington was lobbying for statehood, local business man Levi Ankeny donated 160 acres of land to the city to serve as the site of a new prison.
1887Crime
Legislators approved the site, and in 1887, the state began transferring prisoners to the Washington Territorial Prison from Saatco Prison, a privately owned facility that was s...
1889History
When Washington became a state in 1889, the facility officially became the Washington State Penitentiary, but inmates nicknamed it "The Hill", "The Joint", "The Walls", and "The...
1890History
Church was one of four juice companies in the region to be charged with violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 for price-fixing grapes.
1898Culture
Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection Elma MacGibbon's reminiscences of her travels in the United States starting in ...
1904Crime
80 executions were carried out at the prison between 1904 and 2010.
1907Culture
The Walla Walla Symphony began in 1907 and performs six to eight concerts from October - May.
1908History
James Francis Cropp's brother, Wilber Fisk Cropp, was a Baker County, Oregon Commissioner (1908 Baker County Courthouse Cornerstone).
1911Government
=== 20th century ===
In 1911, Walla Walla adopted a mayor–council government referred to as a "commission" form of government.
1917Architecture
Walla Walla's second movie theater, American Theater, opened in 1917 showing The Law of Compensation, a Selznick Pictures film starring Norma Talmadge.
1927Military
In 1927, the Real Estate Improvement Company of Seattle invested $300,000 toward the construction of the Marcus Whitman Hotel.
1928Architecture
Ford and opened in 1928.
1931Civil Rights
Mill Creek overflowed into Walla Walla and College Place on March 31, 1931, causing $1 million in damages.
1936Disaster
In 1936, Walla Walla and surrounding areas were struck by the magnitude 6.1 State Line earthquake.
1939Economy
In 1939, Walla Walla produced roughly $5 million of the country's $30 million canned green pea industry, and TIME magazine referred to Kelly as the "Father of Peas".
1944Architecture
The Little Theatre of Walla Walla began in 1944 and moved into its current building on Sumach St.
1948History
in 1948 where it has performed various plays to this day.
1949Crime
Workers went on strike for better wages in September 1949, and Kelly had two employees arrested for speaking to the Tri-City Herald.
1952History
Welch's bought Church from Kelly in 1952.
1954History
In 1954, after Sunnyside, Washington adopted another form of government, council–manager government, voted down a change to council-manager, but on November 4, 1959, the city's ...
1964Disaster
The dam and lake were instrumental in preventing damage from flooding in 1964, 1996, and 2020.
1972Government
== Sister cities ==
In 1972, Walla Walla established a sister city relationship with Sasayama (now named Tamba-Sasayama), Japan.
1980History
The Walla Walla Choral Society began in 1980 and performs a season of three or four concerts per year in various locations around the Walla Walla Valley.
1989History
The Walla Walla Valley Bands were formed in 1989 and currently boasts a Concert Band of more than 70 and two Jazz Ensembles.
1990Architecture
In 1990, became Walla Walla's first privately renovated building as a Bon-Macy's.
1994History
Walla Walla has also hosted exchange students from Tamba-Sasayama since 1994 for a two-week home-stay experience.
1997Government
In 1997, Gary Johnson founded the first brewery in Walla Walla since prohibition, Mill Creek Brewpub.
1998History
California based punk band The Offspring mentioned Walla Walla in their song of the same name on their 1998 album Americana.
1999Architecture
It fell into disrepair in the 1960s, until it was restored in 1999 and reopened in 2001.
2000History
=== 2000 census ===
As of the 2000 census, there were 29,686 people, 10,596 households, and 6,527 families residing in the city.
2001Military
=== 21st century ===
In 2001, Walla Walla was a Great American Main Street Award winner for the transformation and preservation of its once dilapidated main street.
2004History
On average these happen once every six or seven years; the penultimate occurrence (in 2004) destroyed about 75% of the wine grape crop in the valley.
2005Economy
In 2005, the financial benefit to the local economy was estimated to be about $55 million through salaries, medical services, utilities, and local purchases.
2007History
In 2007 the Walla Walla Sweet Onion became Washington's official state vegetable.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the 2010 census, there were 31,731 people, 11,537 households, and 6,834 families residing in the city.
2011Government
In July 2011, USA Today selected Walla Walla as the friendliest small city in the United States.
2012History
In 2012 and 2013, Walla Walla was a runner-up in the best food category for the Best of the Road.
2013Sports
In 2013, the Sweets won their first North Division title with the second best win–loss record in the WCL.
2014Crime
In 2014, the penitentiary underwent an extensive expansion project to increase the prison capacity to 2,500 violent offenders and double the staff size.
2017Government
In 2017, and annually, Walla Walla's mayor signed a proclamation making the third Saturday of September "Adam West Day", to honor the actor, who was born and raised in the city.
2018History
Until October 11, 2018, Washington was a death penalty state, and occasional executions took place at the state penitentiary; the last execution took place on September 10, 2010.
2020Architecture
Bon-Macy's parent company, Federated Department Stores, rebranded all of its subsidiaries to Macy's, which operated in the Liberty building until 2020.
2021History
The most notable inmate has been Gary Ridgway, a serial killer known as the "Green River killer", who was still incarcerated there as of November 2021.
2022Civil Rights
As of March 2022, the hotel was still open.
2023Architecture
The most recent portion was completed in June 2023.
2025History
as of 2025 made from the Tenino, WA stone quarry.