Howard Stratton was ordained to the Presbyterian ministry in 1866 in Ohio, after which he began preaching in Kansas. Reverend Stratton left for Oregon in 1871, where he ministered to the Presbyterian and Congregational churches in Albany, OR. Beginning in 1877, while serving as the Columbia synodical missionary, Stratton organized the first Presbyterian churches west of the Cascades in Weston, OR and Walla Walla, Washington Territory. During the winter of 1878-1879, he established the first Presbyterian church at Boise City, Idaho Territory. In 1879, Reverend Stratton started a small sunday school in Spokane Falls, which was the forerunner of the First Presbyterian Church in Spokane Falls.
From the guide to the Howard W. Stratton Diaries, 1853-1888, (Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archives)
