Collection: Henry Harmon Spalding papers

Summary

Material consists of copies of diary and letters of Eliza Hart Spalding; Copies and originals of 1866 petitions from Spalding to the Idaho Territorial governor and the superintendent of Indian Affairs, D.W. Ballard, regarding Spalding's re-appointment to the Nez Perce Mission; Copies of a petition from citizens in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho territories requesting the appointment of Spalding to the Lapwai mission; Clippings, brochures, and programs relating to Spalding Centennial, May 1936, and accounts of historic Lapwai Mission.

Dates

Creation: 1836 - 1953

Biographical Note

Rev. Henry Harmon Spalding was appointed Presbyterian missionary to the Nez Perce Indians about 1835. He and his wife, Eliza Hart Spalding, established the mission at Lapwai and in a few years it consisted of a church, sawmill, blacksmith shop, school, and all the necessary farm buildings. He taught the Indian men to farm while his wife taught the women how to keep house. In 1847, the Cayuse Indians raided the mission and it was closed. In 1871, Spalding returned to his people where he remained until his death in 1874.