In 1836 , Reverend Samuel Parker visited the area and reported that around 800 Native Americans were living in Spokane Falls . A medical mission was established by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman to cater for Cayuse Indians and hikers of the Oregon Trail at Walla Walla in the south . After the Whitmans were killed by Indians in 1847 , Reverend Cushing Eells established Whitman College in their memory , also setting up the first church in Spokane
the Whitmans were killed
Whitman massacre
Spokane, Washington