The Missionary Who Wrote of Bigfoot in 1840

Rev. Elkanah Walker, who lived from 1805 to 1877, was a Congregational Missionary in Oregon and Washington. He was born in North Yarmouth Maine and graduated from Bangor Theological Seminary in 1837. Following his ordination in 1838, he came overland to the Oregon Country to convert the Spokane people, bringing along his bride, Mary Richardson Walker, with whom he would have seven children. The Walkers established their mission at a settlement known as “The Place Of The Springs” in a part of the Oregon Territory that would later become northeastern Washington State, where they studied the Spokane language, and prepared a primer which was published by the Mission Press. The Oregon Historical Society Research Library holds a collection of Reverend Walker’s writings.

Among these are Diaries, letters, and other papers written by Elkanah Walker, and his wife Mary Richardson Walker. A letter of note for many bigfoot researchers is one written in April of 1840 that describes the native’s belief in creatures that modern Bigfoot enthusiasts will recognize from several key points in their description.