About Walla Walla
Now a thriving home to wine and tourist industry alike, the name Walla Walla got it's start from Indian origin and means "many waters". At that time, both Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes called the Walla Walla Valley home.
In the 1800s, fur traders established a settlements trading post and fort in the area. The historic Nez Perce Trail was located where Main Street is today. The historic Lewis & Clark expedition skirted the northern and western boundaries of the Walla Walla Valley in 1805. Their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 took them through present day Walla Walla County.
By the 1860's Walla Walla experienced the effects of the gold rush with commercial, banking, and manufacturing activities, making it the largest city in Washington Territory. Walla Walla became home to the first commercial bank in the northwest, the first college in the region, and has the oldest, continuous symphony west of the Mississippi River. Following the gold rush, farming became the economic force behind the community and continues as one today.
Arts and Culture
Walla Walla was ranked one of the 100 best small art towns in America by author John Villani in 100 Best Small Art Towns in America, and for good reason. Walla Walla offers more than a dozen art galleries, three theaters and the oldest continuous symphony west of the Mississippi River.
The Walla Walla symphony performs works by noted Washington State composers. Artistic Director and Conductor Yaacov Bergman also conducts symphony orchestras in New York, the Philippines and throughout Europe. Blues and jazz are also popular in the Valley. You can catch a concert almost every weekend. In addition, the area’s three colleges stage plays, concerts, sponsor lectures and gallery tours add to the cultural flair of the community.