Last month I posted a list of Washington counties with two word names. Today I thought I'd showcase even the even longer named cities and towns.
- Beaux Arts Village, King County
- Lake Forest Park, King County
- South Cle Elum, Kittitas County
Here's a hodge-podge of lists having to do with Washington State -- From the commonplace to the rare; from the boring to the nutty; from the strictly objective to my personal opinion.
Last month I posted a list of Washington counties with two word names. Today I thought I'd showcase even the even longer named cities and towns.
In what historians believe was retaliation against whites for Indian deaths, Cayuse tribesmen attacked the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu (near the modern town of Walla Walla) 159 years ago today -- November 29, 1847. Measles had ravaged the Indian population but seemed to spare the whites. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, who had established the mission eleven years earlier, were unable to treat the sick Cayuse. Two Indians, Tilaukait and Tamsuky, struck Dr Whitman with a tomahawk in the kitchen of the house. Then they chased down and killed most of the others at the mission, including Mrs Whitman and several children. Dozens of settlers lived at Waiilatpu. By the end of the day, fourteen people were dead. Most of the others were captured and held for ransom.
This was no small incident. The Whitman Mission was a major stop for settlers travelling west, and the Whitmans themselves were well known and respected. The violence of their murders sparked great concern among Anericans in the Northwest and in the nation's capital thousands of miles away. It was no coincidence that Congress quickly decided to arrange a greater presence in the region and created the Oregon Teritory the following August 13.
Killed at Waiilatpu:
Dying during the subsequent captivity:
Note: There are three Sager children on this list. The story of their family -- even before Wailatpu -- is heart-wrenching. I'm sure to talk about them again.
The Atlantic Monthly released its December issue last week with a list of the 100 most influential figures in American history. It's a decent list, I'd say. Sure, there are a few people that I'd add, subtract, or shuffle. You probably would, too. These sorts of lists invite that kind of discussion. But I'll refrain from that here only because this blog likes to focus on Washington state. So, who on the Atlantic's list have Washington connections? Just a few:
I could have stretched further to add more names here, but most of the others I'd name either just visited (e.g., Mark Twain) or imagined (e.g., Thomas Jefferson) the Northwest.
*All elevations given here are thought to be accurate for the actual climbs. St Helens is 8,364 feet high since its 1980 eruption, but was 9,677 feet before that. The climbers of the other peaks either had incorrect or no elevation estimates at all.