Collection is open for research.
Materials found in collection; provenance is unknown.
Henry P. Isaacs was born on March 17, 1822 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked as a merchant and grain broker. He had a store in The Dalles, Oregon, and in 1862 he moved to Walla Walla, Washington. He served on the Washington State legislature from 1885 to 1886. The street, Isaacs Avenue, in Walla Walla is named after him. He died on January 14, 1900 and was buried in Walla Walla, Washington.
Phillip Ritz was born on October 5, 1827 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He built the first house in Benton County, Oregon in the mid 1800s. The city Ritzville, in Adams County Washington was named after him. He moved to Walla Walla, Washington in 1861 and set up an expansive orchard outside of town with over 100,000 trees of all varieties. Ritz passed away on February 8, 1889. The Ritz mansion near the Walla Walla Country Club was built after his death by his wife Catherine.
The Phillip Ritz and Henry P. Isaacs Interviews contains photocopies of handwritten interviews of Henry P. Isaacs and Philip Ritz, conducted by Frances Fuller Victor. A typed transcription of the interviews is also included. They provide insight into what settlement was like in the Pacific Northwest during the mid-to-late 1800s.