|
Frenchtown/St. Rose Project
News
|
FRENCHTOWN GETS GRANT FROM SHERWOOD TRUST, SUPPORT FROM NORTHWEST TRIBES, NEW BOARD MEMBERS
The Frenchtown Historical Foundation is pleased to announce the award of a 2009 grant in the amount of $55,000 from the Sherwood Trust toward the cost of initial work to open the Frenchtown Historic Site to the public. The remaining costs of opening the site must be raised by the Foundation. Work at Frenchtown has also received the endorsement the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, representing 54 Northwest tribal governments from Oregon, Idaho, Washington, southeast Alaska, Northern California and Western Montana. The resolution adopted at ATNI’s recent conference in Reno, Nevada states:
Whereas, after several years of planning and efforts to acquire, protect, and interpret the Frenchtown Historic Site west of Walla Walla, construction funding is now being sought for an interpretive center, an interpretive overlook, trails, and restoration of native and riparian habitat on 50 acres being donated to the Frenchtown Historical Foundation by local landowners, and
Whereas, the project’s three goals are to enhance our economy through tourism, increase cultural understanding, and protect our environment, additional details of which are online at www.frenchtownpartners.zoomshare.com, and
Whereas, the Frenchtown site, just west of the Whitman Mission near Walla Walla in the homeland of the Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes, was settled by former Hudson Bay Company employees and Indian wives beginning in 1823, and was the center point of the 1855 Battle of Walla Walla between European immigrants and area tribes, during which Walla Walla Chief Peopeomoxmox was killed while under a flag of truce, and
Whereas, the Frenchtown Historic Site, lying along the Walla Walla River, is also the site of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Mission and Cemetery, and provides a dramatic contrast between the relations of its French-Canadian/Metis inhabitants with local tribes, and the experience of American Protestant missionaries at the nearby Whitman Mission National Historic Site, and
Whereas, this battleground is sacred to the homeland tribes whose ancestors lived, fought and died there, and deserves to be protected and to be respectfully interpreted to the public in order to increase cultural understanding and respect for the various cultures connected to the site,
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians hereby endorse efforts to acquire, protect, and interpret the Frenchtown Historic Site near Walla Walla, and urge all interested governmental agencies and private interests to consider contributions of resources to assist in these important purposes.
At its July 9 meeting, the Frenchtown Historical Foundation elected two new directors to its twelve-member board. Larry Lofthouse is a general contractor, and a neighbor of the Frenchtown site. Kathleen Garbe is a long-time resident of the Touchet area, and among other activities serves as president of the local chapter of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, representing descendants of those settling here by 1870 or before.
Membership in the Frenchtown Historical Foundation is available by contacting Debra Bergevin Beal, dbergevin5929@charter.net, telephone 509-525-5929. Further details on the Frenchtown Historic Site, including the names of board and advisory committee members, as well as membership and contribution information are available on this website.
Sat, 11 Apr 2009 |
| FRENCHTOWN HISTORIC SITE |
|
The approximately 50-acre Frenchtown Historic Site was seeded to native grasses earlier this year, which are starting to come up. A berm is also being constructed between the St. Rose Cemetery and the new four-lane Highway 12 currently underway to the north of the cemetery.
Funding is being sought to begin construction of a driveway and parking area, trails, interpretive signage, and a picnic shelter for the upper portion of the site between the existing roadway and the new highway. Additional elements include an interpretive center on the upper portion, and reconstruction of the foundation of the St. Rose Mission Church on the lower portion of the site between the old highway and the Walla Walla River.
While the project is under development, the site will remain a natural area with no public access, with the exception of the St. Rose Cemetery, which can be reached by the farm road to the east, if necessary.
Please respect this sacred and historic site, and the privately-owned property which surrounds it, which is closed to public access.
|
|
Fri, 23 Jan 2009 |
| Frenchtown Historical Foundation Adopts Master Plan |
|
The Frenchtown Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, is in the process of acquiring, protecting and interpreting a 50 acre site, including the Frenchtown Cemetery, the St. Rose of Lima Mission, and a critical portion of the grounds of the Battle of Walla Walla at the heart of historic Frenchtown.
A year-long planning process has just been completed, and a master plan has been adopted, providing for the establishment of interpretive displays and structures, trails, and restoration of native vegetation. The full master plan is available on the internet at www.otak.com/frenchtown.
Officers are President, Daniel Clark; Vice-President, Sam Pambrun; Secretary-Treasurer, Karen Bergevin Zohner. Please send contributions to Karen Bergevin Zohner, FHF treasurer, 1926 SW Vista Place, Pendleton OR 97801
|
|
Thu, 18 Sep 2008 |
| FRENCHTOWN MASTER PLAN OPEN HOUSE |
|
You are invited to attend an Open House on Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 from 5-7 pm at the W.W. School District Board Room, 364 S. Park in Walla Walla, regarding the adoption of a master plan for the Frenchtown Historic Site.
Comprising a central portion of the grounds of the 1855 Battle of Walla Walla, and including the St. Rose of Lima Mission and Cemetery, the site in the heart of historic Frenchtown lying between Lowden and the Whitman Mission has recently been added to the Washington State Heritage Register of Historic Places and is being forwarded by the Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pursuant to a National Scenic Byways grant from the Federal Highway Administration, the Frenchtown Historical Foundation has been working for nearly a year to develop a master plan for the 50 acre Frenchtown Historic Site with the assistance of consultants Otak, Inc. of Seattle and Richland architect Jim Stenkamp. The results of their work will be presented by both consultants and Frenchtown officials during the Sept. 29 open house, at which the public is cordially invited to view and comment on the draft plan.
A copy of the plan, which includes historical background, planned trails, signage, structures, cemetery restoration, and an interpretive overlook, can be found online at www.otak.com/frenchtown. Following the open house, the board of the directors of the Frenchtown Historical Foundation will meet at 7:15 pm at Shari's Restaurant to review public comments and to provide instructions to the consultants for finalization of the plan.
Comments can be made either at the open house, by email to clarkdn@charter.net or by writing to FHF, PO Box 1222, Walla Walla WA 99362. For more information, call Daniel Clark, Frenchtown project coordinator,at 509-522-0399.
|
|
Tue, 16 Oct 2007 |
| FRENCHTOWN BARBECUE NOVEMBER 3, 2007 |
The fall Frenchtown Barbecue will be held on November 3, 2007 at Frenchtown Hall in Lowden. This community event features a barbecue dinner and dance, and along with the annual Spring barbecue, serves as a fundraiser to support the maintenance of the Frenchtown Recreation Hall. For ticket information, contact Kim Frank at Crossroads Steakhouse and Lounge, 509-522-1200 or Frenchtown Recreation Hall board members.
|
|
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 |
| FRENCHTOWN RENDEZVOUS TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER 16 |
|
This year’s Frenchtown Rendezvous will be held on Sunday, Sept. 16, at Fort Walla Walla Park. The event will begin at the Rotary Shelter with a potluck lunch at 11:30. At 12:30, there will be a formal discussion of plans and developments regarding the creation of a 50-acre interpretive park at the site of the old St. Rose Mission and cemetery between Walla Walla and Lowden. The rendezvous will then move to Fort Walla Walla Museum for a 2:00 pm living history presentation by important figures from the history of Frenchtown.
All of the Frenchtown Rendezvous activities are open to the public. For more information on Frenchtown and the efforts to preserve and interpret these historic lands, call Russ Bergevin, 509-525-2749 or Dan Clark, 509-522-0399.
|
|
