Featured Businesses
Walla Walla, WA
Walla Walla is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023.
The land now encompassing the city of Walla Walla has been home to the people of the Cayuse (Weyíiletpu), Umatilla (Imatalamłáma), and Walla Walla (Walúulapam) tribes since time immemorial. Prior to the arrival of Euro-American settler-colonists, the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people traveled on the Columbia Plateau, setting up seasonal camps to participate in annual cycles of hunting, fishing, trading, and celebration. Their winter villages were located along the Columbia and Snake rivers and their tributaries; they returned to the adjacent mountains during the spring, summer, and fall. The region’s natural resources supported the tribes as they gathered roots and berries, hunted elk and deer, and fished salmon. They also participated in a large network of trade with multiple tribes. However, the first recorded contact with Euro-Americans occurred in 1805 as the Corps of Discovery, led by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis, noted the use of the Columbia River for travel for trade purposes. Walla Walla was incorporated as a city in January 1862 and became the county seat. In the midst of the Great Depression, Walla Walla experienced a devastating three-day flood, the Mill Creek Flood of 1931, in the downtown area.
In the lead up to—as well as after—the United States’ involvement in World War II, military presence expanded in Walla Walla. In addition to military installations nearby at Hermiston and Pendleton, Walla Walla was selected as a site for an airfield. The United States Army Corps of Engineers built a bomber air-training base at the Walla Walla municipal airport in 1941 and runway work began in early 1942. In addition to the training base, McCaw General Army Hospital opened in 1943 with 1,850 beds. The hospital closed in February 1946.
A period of urban renewal in the early 1970s resulted in the demolition of entire blocks downtown. The Walla Walla Main Street Foundation (now Downtown Walla Walla Foundation/DWWF) was formed in 1984 to help revitalize downtown. During this revitalization, grape growing and winemaking became a prominent industry in Walla Walla and the surrounding farmland by the mid-1980s. The wine industry has had a significant impact on reinvestment in Walla Walla’s downtown as it has become a destination for residents and tourists with shops, tasting rooms, and restaurants.
Walla Walla is the birthplace of Adam West, television's Batman!
