"To the West of the Garrison Near a Low-Lying Creek": The U.S. Army Laundress Quarters of Fort Walla Walla, WA

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Fort Walla Walla was established in eastern Washington Territory as a U.S. Army outpost in 1856 and served in various military capacities before being decommissioned in 1910. In 1873, the 1st U.S. Cavalry arrived to begin post-Civil War Era construction and two laundress quarters were built. Documentary research has uncovered new information about both the history and construction of these quarters and about the laundresses who emigrated from Europe to live and work there. Additional research indicates that these women resided at a post whose international residents included musicians and veterans of the American Civil War. A preliminary analysis of the material culture associated with the site, along with an assessment of the laundress quarter’s physical characteristics and their resident’s diverse roles within the social hierarchy of the U.S. Army, has provided new information about life both at the post and within the larger frontier landscape of the American West.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow