Maria Whitman, portrayed by civic leader Barbara Clark, rejoined her husband E.B. Whitman in Walla Walla after 12 years apart. E.B. Whitman, a cousin of Marcus Whitman, was now the first mayor of Walla Walla though he had come west in 1850 to look for gold in California. He had left Maria behind with their two sons on the East Coast.

Maria pronounces her name as “Mariah.” She was born in Portland, Maine, in 1828, the daughter of a lawyer. She was educated in the Boston area, where the couple were married and had their two sons.

She became a civic leader after the couple’s reunification here. Audience members are encouraged to ask Mrs. Whitman questions about what her life was like under the circumstances and what Walla Walla was like in its barely-civilized days.