Qualla: Walla Walla

Walla Walla: Introduction

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Phbludwig, CC BY-SA 3.0. The name repeats itself for emphasis, as the Walla Walla people intended - their word meaning 'many waters' for the streams descending from the Blue Mountains. Today this southeastern Washington city of 33,000 has other claims to fame: the sweet onions that bear its name, developed here in the early 1900s from Italian seed stock, and the wines that have made this corner of wheat country one of America's most respected wine regions. Over a hundred wineries cluster in and around town, their tasting rooms sharing downtown space with the college students of Whitman College and the echoes of Oregon Trail history that still resonate through the valley.

Read more: Walla Walla on Qualla

Image: Phbludwig | CC BY-SA 3.0

Walla Walla: The Wine Transformation

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0. Two decades ago, Walla Walla was a farming town with a famous onion and a state penitentiary. Today it's a wine destination that rivals Napa in reputation if not in pretension. The transformation began in the 1970s when pioneers planted vineyards in the rocky soils along the foot...

Read more: Walla Walla on Qualla

Image: Joe Mabel | CC BY-SA 3.0

Walla Walla: College Town Meets Cowboy Town

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat), CC BY-SA 3.0. Whitman College brings an unexpected element to this agricultural valley - 1,500 students attending one of the West's most prestigious liberal arts schools, their presence filling coffee shops and bookstores along Main Street. The college dates to 1859, making it one of the oldes...

Read more: Walla Walla on Qualla

Image: Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat) | CC BY-SA 3.0

Walla Walla: Oregon Trail Echoes

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag Meißen, CC0. The Whitman Mission National Historic Site, seven miles west of town, marks one of the Oregon Trail's most significant and tragic locations. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman established their mission here in 1836, providing rest and resupply for emigrants on the grueling journey west....

Read more: Walla Walla on Qualla

Image: Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag Meißen | CC0

Walla Walla: The Sweet Onion Legacy

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Phbludwig, CC BY-SA 3.0. Before wine, there were onions - and the Walla Walla Sweet remains one of the region's signature crops. Italian immigrant Joe Locati brought the seeds from Corsica in the early 1900s, planting them in the volcanic soil of the Walla Walla Valley. Generations of farmers selected fo...

Read more: Walla Walla on Qualla

Image: Phbludwig | CC BY-SA 3.0