Living History: Lettice Millican Clark Reynolds, pioneer settler and community leader

Lettice Millican was born in 1830, the oldest of 12 children. In 1843 her family headed west with a wagon train carrying 1,000 settlers. After her family settled in the Willamette Valley, she married Ransom Clark, who in 1855 obtained a 640-acre donation claim along Yellowhawk Creek. Lettice and her husband came to Walla Walla to prove up their claim in 1855 but were driven out by the Indian War of that year. Ransom Clark died in Portland in 1859, and Lettice returned to Walla Walla the same year to complete their cabin, which is now located in the Museum’s Pioneer Village. She was the first white woman to reside in the Walla Walla Valley after the Whitman tragedy, later marrying mill owner Almos Reynolds and becoming a public benefactor who made substantial gifts to Whitman College. Lettice Millican Clark Reynolds is portrayed by Pam Myers.