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is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 29,686 at the 2000 census and 31,350 from the 2008 estimate of the Washington State Office of Financial Management. Walla Walla is in the southeastern region of Washington, approximately five hours by car from Seattle, Washington and thirteen miles from the Oregon border.
Whitman College, Walla Walla Community College, and the Washington State Penitentiary are located in Walla Walla. Walla Walla University is located in nearby College Place, Washington. In addition, Baker Boyer Bank, the oldest bank in the state of Washington, was founded in Walla Walla in 1869.
Walla Walla is famous for its sweet onions. Many wineries are located in the area and it is a popular vacation spot for wine enthusiasts.
On September 1, 1836, Marcus Whitman arrived with his wife Narcissa Whitman. Here they established the Whitman Mission in an unsuccessful attempt to convert the local Walla Walla tribe to Christianity. Following a disease epidemic, both were killed by the Cayuse who believed that the missionaries were poisoning the native peoples. Whitman College was established in their honor.
The original Northwest Company and later Hudson's Bay Company Fort Nez Percés fur trading outpost, became a major stopping point for migrants moving west to Oregon Country. The fort has been restored with many of the original buildings preserved . The current Fort Walla Walla contains these buildings, albeit in a different location from the original, as well as a museum about the early settlers' lives.
The Walla Walla River, where it adjoins the Columbia River, was the starting point for the Mullan Road, constructed between 1859 and 1860 by US Army Lieut. John Mullen, connecting the head of navigation on the Columbia at Walla Walla (i.e., the west coast of the US) with the head of navigation on the Missouri-Mississippi (that is, the east and gulf coasts of the US) at Fort Benton, Montana.
Walla Walla was officially incorporated on January 11, 1862. As a result of a gold rush, during this decade the city became the largest community in the territory of Washington, at one point slated to be the new state's capital. The former Governor's mansion still stands in the southern part of the city. Following this period of rapid growth, agriculture became the city's primary industry.