Biohazard Cleanup Near Willow Bend Estates Walla Walla, WA

Walla Walla is the county seat of Walla Walla County and the largest city in southeastern Washington, located about six miles north of the Oregon state line.

The city's name comes from the Indigenous Walla Walla people of the region and is often rendered as "place of many waters."

Walla Walla grew up around Fort Walla Walla, a U.S. Army post established in 1856, and the city was officially incorporated on January 11, 1862.

During its gold-rush-era boom, Walla Walla was once the largest city in the Washington Territory and was at one point expected to become the state capital.

The Whitman Mission National Historic Site west of the city preserves Waiilatpu, where Marcus and Narcissa Whitman established a mission in 1836.

Washington's first bank, Baker Boyer Bank, was founded in Walla Walla in 1869, and the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel still anchors the downtown skyline.

The 2020 census counted 34,060 residents in Walla Walla, and Census Bureau survey estimates for 2020-2024 put the city at about 13,084 households.

Whitman College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1882, is located in Walla Walla, as is Walla Walla Community College, while Walla Walla University sits in the neighboring city of College Place.

The Washington State Penitentiary, one of Washington's largest correctional institutions, has operated in Walla Walla since its first inmates arrived in 1887.

The Walla Walla sweet onion traces to a Corsican seed brought to the valley by French soldier Peter Pieri, with the first crop harvested in 1900; in 2007 the Walla Walla sweet onion was designated Washington's official state vegetable.