Elkanah Walker papers

The collection consists of correspondence, 29 diaries, and one drawing related to the lives and activities of Elkanah Walker and Mary Richardson Walker. Subjects include the Walkers' trip from Maine to the Oregon Territory, the establishment of the Tshimakain Mission, their interactions with the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and wars with Native Americans in Oregon Territory.

Materials created by US presidents in this collection include Franklin Pierce document signed appointing Joseph Lane as governor of Oregon Territory, 1853 March 16 (WA 31); Ulysses S. Grant autograph letter signed to Captain Theodore J. Eckarson, 1866 February 16 (WA 51); and Andrew Johnson land grant with secretarial signature to H.H. Spalding, 1866 December 14 (WA 52).