Whitman Mission hosts exhibit about Black female pioneer

Letitia Carson was a pioneer in more ways than one. 

In 1845, she traveled the Oregon Trail as a Black woman. Later, on two separate occasions, she sued the executor of her white husband’s estate — and won. Then, she became the first Black person to make a successful homesteading claim in Oregon. 

Now, Walla Walla’s Whitman Mission is hosting an exhibit about Carson’s life. The eight-panel display is on loan from Oregon Black Pioneers, a nonprofit focused on history and education. 

“She was just an incredible figure that persevered against basically every obstacle that you can imagine,” said Mariah Rocker, the organization’s public programs and exhibits manager. “She was able to build a life for herself in a place that was not very welcoming to her.” 

Though there isn’t any official documentation, Rocker said there’s a good chance that Carson passed through the Whitman Mission or interacted with Marcus Whitman on her journey west. 

“To go to a place that she may have been and then take in the story of her life,” Rocker said, “is a really powerful thing to do.” 

Carson eventually settled north of Corvallis. Just two years ago, that city renamed one of its elementary schools after her. 

Rocker believes it’s important to share stories like Carson’s throughout the Pacific Northwest. Often, she said, people forget that pioneers weren’t all white. 

“There’s a misconception about what Oregon has looked like throughout history,” she said. “We want to change that narrative because in some ways that prevents people from recognizing that this can be a beautiful place for them to live.”

The Carson exhibit will remain at the Whitman Mission until Dec. 7. Admission is free.