Mullan Road

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Mullan Road
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Looking north at one of the few remaining gravel stretches of the Mullan Road as it crosses Washington State Route 26 near Washtucna, Washington. The portion south of SR 26 has reverted to grazing.
Looking north at one of the few remaining gravel stretches of the Mullan Road as it crosses Washington State Route 26 near Washtucna, Washington. The portion south of SR 26 has reverted to grazing.
Nearest city: St. Maries, Idaho; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Built/Founded: 1853
Added to NRHP: April 05, 1990
NRHP Reference#: 90000548 [1]
Governing body: Forest Service

Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by US Army Lieut. John Mullan between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Benton, Montana to Fort Walla Walla, Washington Territory, roughly following the path of modern-day Interstate 90 through the Rockies.

Parts of the Mullan Road can still be traveled. One such section is near Washtucna, Washington.

Mullan Road was designated a historic site by the National Register of Historical Places in 1975[2], and the American Society of Civil Engineers designated it a historic civil engineering landmark in 1977.


Contents

[edit] History

As early as 1852 a firm proposal was made to build an overland route to the Pacific Ocean to help settle the area with pioneers to eliminate any claims that France, England or Russia had on the disputed territories. Little detail was known about the country, despite Lewis and Clark's work, so Isaac Ingalls Stevens, a West Point graduate who had been appointed the first governor of the Washington Territory, was ordered to survey a route from the Missouri River to the Columbia River that would be suitable for the building of a railroad. Stevens assumed the task, but also kept in mind that the route should also be suitable for a wagon road.

In the spring of 1853, under Congressional authority, an expedition made up of engineers and explorers led by Stevens was organized near St. Paul, Minnesota. They were to detail the geographical and topographical character of the country and among them was a small, dark-haired young man named John Mullan. Lieutenant Mullan was just a year out of West Point and anxious to prove his mettle as an engineer.

Mullan was placed in charge of selecting a wagon route (now commonly called the Mullan Road) between Fort Benton (Montana) and Fort Walla Walla (Washington). Lieutenant Mullan, a topographical engineer, began gathering information in 1854. Delayed by the Yakima War which ended in 1858, construction began in 1859 from Fort Walla Walla. In what was then Washington Territory, Lieutenant Mullan commanded a workforce of more than 200 including civilians workers, surveyors, engineers, and soldiers who carved a 25-foot wide road across the region.[3][4]

After the strenuous project was completed in 1860, floods wiped out substantial stretches of the road, and the road was re-routed in 1861. Floods again damaged the road, and ultimately, no provision for maintenance was provided.[3][4]

Although the highway was never heavily used as a military highway, the road did become an important conduit for civilian passage which hastened settling of the northwestern United States. In the first year after completion, it was used by an estimated 20,000 people, 6,000 horses and mules, 5,000 cattle and 83 wagons. The Mullan Road helped Walla Walla to grow to become the largest town in Washington Territory by 1870, with a population of 1,394. The road continued to serve as an important route until the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 provided faster and more convenient access to the region.[3]

[edit] Route of the Mullan Road

From the origin at Fort Benton, Montana, the Mullan Road proceeded:

  • West from Fort Benton, Montana
  • Passing North of Great Falls, Montana
  • Dropping south to cross the continental divide west of Helena Montana (following a path through Mullan Pass which is the pass immediately north of that now traveled by U.S. Route 12)
  • Along the Clark Fork River, near the ghost town of Bearmouth, Montana
  • Just west of Garrison, Montana it joins the route of present day Interstate 90 (similar to the U.S. Route 12 transition to join Interstate 90 today)
  • It remained with the Interstate 90 route as it passed Missoula proceeding west through Montana. The Mullan Road through the Missoula Valley fostered rapid growth for the burgeoning city, and allowed the U.S. Army to establish Fort Missoula there in 1877.
  • The road then crossed the border into Idaho near Mullan, Idaho (still on the route later taken by Interstate 90). The highest elevation of the road is a second Mullan Pass at 5168 feet (1575 m), which lies about 7 miles (10 km) east of Mullan, Idaho on the Idaho-Montana border.
  • From the middle of the Idaho crossing the road deviates from present-day major roads. The Mullan Road departed from the current Interstate 90 route midway in its passage through Idaho, going southwesterly to pass south of Lake Coeur d'Alene
  • The road then passed into Washington some distance south of Spokane, Washington
  • From there the Mullan Road passed through the Palouse country and then the scablands of eastern Washington.
  • It passed through Benge, Washington. The Benge section of the road was completed May 22, 1861; the wagon ruts were still visible in 2008 just northeast of town at the site of the First Benge School.
  • South of Benge one encounters a stretch of the former road still labeled 'Mullan Road'. This gravel stretch of the Mullan Road still travels southwesterly until it meets Washington State Route 26 near Washtucna, Washington.
  • The portion of Mullan Road south of SR 26 in Washington which follows the course of the Palouse River as it descends to the Snake River has reverted to grazing and is not accessible to the public.
  • After crossing the Snake River near the confluence with the Palouse River, the Mullan Road continues south to its terminus at Fort Walla Walla near Walla Walla, Washington.

[edit] References

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-23).
  2. ^ Montana - Cascade County. National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
  3. ^ a b c Trafzer, Clifford E. & Scheuerman, Richard D. (1986). Renegade Tribe: The Palouse Indians and the Invasion of the Inland Northwest. Washington State University Press, Pullman, Washington. ISBN 0-87422-027-0. 
  4. ^ a b HistoryLink.org Essay 5225

[edit] External links


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Coordinates: 46°46′8.3″N, 118°12′22.6″W