Mary Richardson Walker

Mary Richardson Walker (April 1, 1811 – December 5, 1897) was an American missionary. She was the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte Richardson of West Baldwin, Maine.

William Thayer, a mutual friend of Mary Richardson and Elkanah Walker, knew they wanted to be missionaries, so he set up a meeting between them. After a 48-hour courtship, Elkanah proposed to Mary. A year later on March 5, 1838, they married hurriedly so they could depart for the Oregon Country as missionaries.

Trip to Oregon Country The Walkers departed her home at North Yarmouth, Maine on March 7, 1838, for Boston, Massachusetts and then to Independence, Missouri for the long trip across the continent with three other couples: Cushing and Myra Eells, Asa and Sarah Gilbert White Smith, and William and Mary Augusta Dix Gray. Mary Walker became pregnant and traveled side-saddle for most of the 1900 miles.

Tshimakain Mission created On September 20, 1839, the Walker and Eells family arrived at Tshimakain and began setting up their new homes among the Spokan Indian tribal people.

Settled in Forest Grove, Oregon

The Walkers moved to Forest Grove, Oregon in October, 1849. While living at Forest Grove, the Walkers helped establish Tualatin Academy (now Pacific University.) When the Tualatin Academy became Pacific University in 1866, the Walkers donated land for the new campus and Elkanah served as a university trustee until his death. Cushing Eells became the first principal of Tualatin Academy and later founded Whitman College as a memorial to the martyred Whitman's. Elkanah Walker's name is on the charter of both Whitman Seminary and Whitman College. On December 5, 1897, Mary Richardson Walker died at Forest Grove. She died at the home of her son Levi. She was the last surviving member of the original thirteen members of the Old Oregon Mission. and Mary Walker High School in Springdale, Washington are named for her.