Catholic missionary Eugene Casimir Chirouse, Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.), traveled from his native France to Oregon Territory with four Missionary Oblates and, after an arduous trip, arrived at Fort Walla Walla on October 5, 1847 -- only a month before the Whitman Massacre. Chirouse was ordained with Charles M. Pandosy (1824-1891) at Hudson's Bay Company Fort Walla Walla on January 2, 1848, the first Catholic ordination in what would become the state of Washington. 

The youngest of five children, Chirouse was born May 8, 1821, in Bourge-de-Peage, France. He began his novitiate with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and was chosen as one of five Missionary Oblates to travel with Father Pascal Ricard from France to Oregon Territory. On May 11, 1847, the Oblates set forth on the 2,000-mile journey from Westport, Kansas, to Walla Walla, following the Oregon Trail, and Chirouse got there on October 5, 1847. The Indian population in Oregon Territory then numbered about 110,000 persons with approximately 6,000 believed to be Catholics.

Upon Ricard's arrival in the region, he and Father Blanchet began building a mission, hoping to have accommodations ready as winter approached. Chief Peo-peo-mox-mox allowed them to build among the Walla Wallas, and a crude hut called St. Rose Mission was completed in October 1847 at the mouth of the Yakima River. 

It was a perilous time. On November 29, 1847, Dr. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847), his wife Narcissa Prentiss Whitman (1808-1847) and 12 others were killed by members of the Cayuse tribe, and a number of others were taken as prisoners. The Catholic fathers and missionaries were now called upon to be peacemakers.

Amidst the turmoil, Chirouse and Pandosy were ordained on January 2, 1848, the first ordination in what is now Washington. At the time of the ordination, the Indian wife of post trader Wiliam McBean offered one of her dresses to an Oblate when a shortage of albs became apparent. Five hours after the ordination, Father Chirouse returned to his work at the Mission of St. Rose on the Yakima, and Father Pandosy to St. Mary’s with the Yakama and Kittitas tribes.

During the 1850s, settlers began populating the Walla Walla territory -- Walla Walla County was formed April 25, 1854 -- and Fathers Chirouse and Pandosy ministered to the Catholics. Among the arrivals to the territory were miners and soldiers, many of whom were suspicious of the priests’ closeness to the tribes. On the other hand, Indians suspected that the priests and new settlers were allies. The priests attempted to be the bridging peacemakers.

In 1853, Fr. Chirouse founded the St. Rose of the Cayouse mission at the mouth of Yellowhawk Creek, where Gov. Isaac Stevens met him on his way from the east through the Walla Walla Valley to assume his duties in Olympia. Chirouse was also present at the Walla Walla Treaty Council of 1855 conducted by Stevens. 

At the end of 1856, during the Indian Wars, he was transferred to the Puget Sound area, where he lived and worked for most of the rest of his life, dying in British Columbia in 1892. Father Chirouse is portrayed by Walla Walla University faculty member Jean-Paul Grimaud, who with his wife Karen are the owners of Blue Mountain Lavender Farm, not far from the Frenchtown area.

The Museum is located in Fort Walla Walla Park along Myra Road in Walla Walla. Admission is $7/adults; $6/students and seniors (62+); $3/children 6-12; and free to members, and children under 6. through a reciprocal agreement, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute’s Inwai Circle cardholders and enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are also accorded free admission. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703, or email: info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.