Welcome to Fort Walla Walla Museum
Your exploration of Inland Northwest history starts here.
Located on the grounds of a 19th-century military fort, Fort Walla Walla Museum provides an exciting and educational experience for the whole family. Take a walk through old Walla Walla, starting at the Museum’s iconic stagecoach. Discover stories from the Oregon Trail, see the oldest locomotive to operate in Washington State, watch a 33-mule team harvest a wheat field, and lock yourself in an old bucket cell from the Washington State Penitentiary.
There are programs and events held on the Museum grounds all year, so immerse yourself in history by taking in a Living History performance or learn something new during our monthly After-Hours presentations. Explore our exhibits and program schedule by clicking on the menu options at the top of this page. Plan your visit to Fort Walla Walla Museum today!
Current Exhibits
Fort Walla Walla Museum has five exhibit halls and an outdoor Pioneer Village. Click below for exhibit details.
AgriculturE
This museum houses one of the largest collections of horse-era agricultural equipment dating from 1859 to the 1930s. The collection illustrates the early days of farming in Walla Walla, a primary agriculture-producing region where wheat dominates, and vegetables, cattle and sheep, orchards, and vineyards thrive.
Military History
Fort Walla Walla, one of the longest-occupied military posts in the Northwest, was home to dragoon, infantry, artillery, and cavalry units from 1856 to 1910. There were six forts named Walla Walla: three fur trade and three military. Fort Walla Walla Museum is situated on the final military fort dating to 1858.
Textile exhibits
The museum’s rotating Heritage Fashion Runway exhibit showcases fashion from the ages, including dresses, uniforms, and leisurewear. Cases also display millinery fashions and the construction of a corseted dress. The museum also has a collection of hand-sewn quilts that may be displayed seasonally.
the Blue Mountain Locomotive
Dr. Dorsey Syng Baker ordered this locomotive in 1877 as part of the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad between Wallula and Walla Walla. It is the only surviving narrow-gauge locomotive from Baker’s “Rawhide Railroad” line and, remarkably, the oldest existing locomotive used in Washington State.
Penitentiary
More than 250 artifacts, regalia, photographs, and documents comprise the Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection. While the collection contains many well-preserved examples of traditional Indian crafts and truly wonderful pieces of art, it is the history associated with these items that makes them museum treasures.
Transportation
The museum’s collection of old-time transportation artifacts includes a colorful Abbot Downing passenger wagon in the Grand Hall, plus an array of buggies, sleighs, wagons, covered wagons, a 1921 Dodge touring car, and a horse-drawn fire pumper purchased in 1904 by the Walla Walla fire department.
Lloyd Family exhibit
More than 250 artifacts, regalia, photographs, and documents comprise the Lloyd Family Indian Artifact Collection. While the collection contains many well-preserved examples of traditional Indian crafts and truly wonderful pieces of art, it is the family history associated with these items that make them museum treasures.
Pioneer Village
A stroll through the museum’s Pioneer Village offers a taste of life in and around Walla Walla in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Encircling a common area, the 17 structures range from cabins and a school to blacksmith and dentist shops — all filled with interesting furnishings and artifacts from April to October.
