Narcissa Prentiss House

Narcissa Prentiss was one of the first non-Indian women to cross the Rocky Mountains. As a missionary, she traveled to Walla Walla, Washington. Free tours at the home of her birthplace. Narcissa Prentiss Whitman was born in Prattsburgh, NY in 1808 and, according to historian and biographer Clifford M. Drury, is one of the “best-known and most loved characters in the history of the Pacific Northwest.” Her parents, Stephen and Clarissa Ward Whitman settled in Prattsburgh about 1805 and Stephen built a small frame house for his growing family. Occupied by other settlers and then vacant and neglected for years, the Narcissa Prentiss House was carefully reclaimed in 1936 by Dr. Arthur Limouze, who presented it to the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church in 1941. In 1979, the Committee to Preserve the Narcissa Prentiss House was incorporated as a non-profit organization, under the University of the State of New York, and took over the administration of the house.