French nobleman turned priest Etienne DeRouge, S.J., established St. Mary's Mission in 1886 at the invitation of Chief Smitkin. From a single log cabin, St. Mary's grew into a junior college with dormitories, a hospital, band, museum, and baseball team, serving as a cultural and religious center for the entire area. In 1919, fire destroyed the original college building. Today about 175 Indian children attend grades one through eight, and St. Mary's is the only Indian boarding school in Washington State.