Winans, W. P. (William Parkhurst), 1836-1917

Merchant, Indian agent, banker and historian of Colville and Walla Walla, Washington.

W.P. Winans moved to the Umatilla River in 1859 and lived in Stevens County for the next 40 years. He held many positions, including County Clerk and Indian Agent.

William Parkhurst Winans (Jan. 29, 1836-April 22, 1917) was born in Elizabeth, NJ to Jonas Wood Winans and Sarah Stiles. In 1859 he left Springfield, IL and journeyed to Umatilla River, OR. He moved to the Colville Valley in WA in July 1961. He represented Stevens County in the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1867, 1868 and 1871. He was appointed Sub-Indian Agent of the six non-treaty tribes in the Colville region in 1870. In 1874 Winans moved from Colville to Walla Walla, WA. He traveled widely in Europe during this period and had local interests in farming, merchandising, freighting, and banking. He was also active in civic, church, and business affairs, serving in the latter capacity as a member of the board of directors of First National Bank of Walla Walla and as President of Farmer's Savings Bank from 1890 until 1917. William Parkhurst Winans died on April 22, 1917.

William Parkhurst Winans was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on January 28,1836, one of eight children born to Jonas Wood Winans and Sarah Stiles. W.P Winans’s ancestry can be traced to the Revolutionary War in the figure of one Isaac Winans (1710-1780), who served as a member on the committee of public safety. Isaac Winans died after being imprisoned by the British.

In 1859 W.P. Winans journeyed westward from Springfield, Illinois, arriving at the Umatilla River in Oregon in September of that year. He worked as a warehouseman and schoolteacher in the winter of 1860-1861, and was a clerk of the first Oregon election in 1860. In July of 1861 he moved to Fort Colville, Washington, where he was appointed deputy county auditor of Spokane County before becoming auditor in 1862. During this period Winans’s career followed parallel paths in business and government. He was appointed clerk for the United States district court comprising Spokane and Missoula counties, serving under Judge E.P. Oliphant. Winans’s owned a general store when in 1866 he was elected county superintendent of schools. In 1867, 1868 and 1871, he represented Stevens County in the Washington territorial legislature. A significant part of Winans’s career began in 1870, with his appointment as Sub-Indian Agent of the six non-treaty tribes in the Colville region that had declined to make peace with the Federal government. It was in this capacity that, in 1872, he successfully argued against the directive of President Grant that would have given the Colville Valley Indian tribes areas in Stevens County where white settlers had previously established themselves under laws associated with "pre-emption" and homestead rights. This decision caused a great deal of controversy at the time. W.P. Winans was married to Lydia (or Lidia) Moore (d. 1876) in 1868 or 1869, and to Christine McRae in 1879.

In 1874 Winans moved from Colville to Walla Walla, entering into the mercantile firm of Johnson, Rees & Co. (later Rees, Winans & Co.) He traveled widely in Europe during this period and had local interests in farming, merchandising, freighting, and banking. He was also active in civic, church, and business affairs, serving in the latter capacity as a member of the board of directors of First National Bank of Walla Walla and as President of Farmer’s Savings Bank from 1890 until 1917. William Parkhurst Winans died on April 22, 1917.