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Mover & Shaker

Dr. Dorsey Baker and his Railroad

Ron Klicker portrays Dr. Dorsey Singh Baker
Ron Klicker portrays Dr. Dorsey Baker

Dr. Dorsey Singh Baker grew up in Wabash County, Illinois and went on to get his medical degree. He heard the siren call of the golden sunset west and traveled all the way to ... Iowa. Soon, however, Baker continued on to Portland, OR. He arrived in Walla Walla in 1860 to take over a store he had financed the year before. Baker found a partner in John Boyer and together they opened Baker and Boyer, selling supplies to miners. They flourished, gained a reputation for square dealing with the miners, and opened Washington's first official bank in 1869. Baker Boyer Bank remains headquartered in the community more than 140 years later; its President/CEO, Megan Clubb, is a descendant of Dr. Baker. Dr. Baker donated land for the first school in town, on the block that now has the Kirkman House Museum. He donated land for Whitman Seminary, too.

Dr. Baker is probably best known for developing a railroad between here and Wallula near the junction of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Early on, Baker and several other town fathers including Reynolds, Reese, Kyger, Newell, McMorris, Chase, Isaacs, Sharpstein, and Boyer tried to incorporate to fund railroad construction, but few else in town would throw in with them.

Dr. Dorsey Baker, left, from Lyman's History of Walla Walla County and a WW&CR ticket.

By 1871, Baker decided to go it alone and financed the project with his own money. The first estimates he received for building the railroad ... surveying, grading and building the road bed, purchasing rails, two engines, and rolling stock came to about a $1 million. Baker thought he could save money by using wooden rails covered with two-inch thick strap steel (except on curves) and to build the rolling stock locally. Sadly, the “rawhide railroad” notion, with wooden rails covered in strips of rawhide, is no more than a tale, nor did coyotes cause any damage to the rails. The engines still had to be purchased, but Baker opted for the small and cheaper narrow gauge variety. The engines were shipped around the horn and construction began in 1872. Wallula boomed with the building and soon there appeared a hotel, saloons, an ice house, and all the accoutrements of a town.

The tracks reached Walla Walla in 1875 and the final cost of the railroad was about $350,000 ... about a third of the original estimate. Dr. Baker issued an invitation to everyone in town to ride to Wallula for a free picnic. His only passenger car was nicknamed 'the Hearse,' as it was so narrow and had only a few small windows, but it was crammed and the overflow rode on flatcars. As if on cue, the steamer Col. Wright arrived in Wallula as the picnic got underway to load a shipment of wheat.

Townsfolk still weren’t too thrilled about buying in to the operation and felt Baker was charging too much to haul. Freighters were forced to lower their prices to compete and there was even talk of building a canal from about where Whitman Mission national Historic Site is today to the Columbia River. Nothing came of that and eventually the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad would soon ship out nearly 30 tons of wheat.

Baker eventually sold his enterprise, but the sole surviving engine that he ordered awaits display at Fort Walla Walla Museum sometime in the future. The Blue Mountain* is currently owned by the Washington State Railroads Historical Society Museum in Pasco, Washington.

Architect's rendering of Dorsey Baker's Blue Mountain engine in the proposed Pioneer Gallery

Living History performances take place in the Museum’s pioneer village on Myra Road and visitors are encouraged to question the re-enactors about their experiences and views, Vvisit the Museum’s animal husbandry display in Exhibit Hall 1 as you enjoy yout tour. Museum hours are 10 am to 5 pm daily. Admission is free to members, children under 6, and through a reciprocal agreement Tamástslikt Cultural Institute's Inwai Circle cardholders and enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; $3 for children ages 6-12; $6 for seniors (62+) and students; and $7 for adults. Your admission cost can be applied to a membership, which includes free admission to all Living History performances, priced beginning at $25. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703 or info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.

* The Blue Mountain will be on long term loan and installed in the Pioneer Gallery following Phase 1B of construction.