Spalding Mission

Spalding Mission’s physical remains are sparse, but its impact was large and longlasting. Henry and Eliza Spalding were Presbyterian missionaries who came here in 1836 to convert the Nez Perce not just to Christianity but to a new culture. The floor plan of these original foundations shows evidence of the Spaldings’ attempts to influence the Nez Perce life way. In rooms added to their residence, the Spaldings taught school, boarded students, and operated a printing press that produced hymn books and primers in the Nez Perce language. The Spaldings left in the aftermath of the killings at the Whitman Mission. Henry returned in 1862 to teach at the agency school in Lapwai. Despite his long absence, he had already started some Nez Perce along the path to change.

Idaho · United States