Collection is open for research.
Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by John Ervin Jesseph in April 1979.
Fort Walla Walla was established as a U.S. Cavalry post in 1856. It was used by the U.S. military from 1856 to 1866, and from 1873 to 1910. The fort played a significant role in U.S. military engagements with Native American tribes and the protection of white settlers in the Inland Northwest in the 1860s and 1870s. After 1880, military personnel stationed at the fort devoted their time to exploration, occasional rescue of civilians from the elements or conflicts with Native Americans, and the protection of civilian property. In 1910, the U.S. War Department abandoned Fort Walla Walla. A fire in the Walla Walla's St. Mary's Hospital in 1915 prompted the use of buildings of the former Fort Walla Walla for the provision of medical care to the community. In 1922, a U.S. Veterans' Hospital was opened at the former Fort Walla Walla complex.
This collection, consisting of three items, spans the transition of Fort Walla Walla from an active military post to a veterans' hospital. The correspondence book is presumed to contain copies of letters sent by officials at the fort from August 1864 to October 1965. Most describe the transfer of receipts, contracts, reports, and supplies. The building records describe the function, features, dimensions, repairs, and modifications made to buildings on the Fort Walla Walla site between 1906 and 1918. A photograph accompanies the description of each building. The Report of the Officer of the Day includes a description of the duties accompanying that position. Daily reports from May 1922 to November 1924 include brief descriptions of activities and a summary of the number of patients admitted, discharged, transferred, and deceased each day.