Walter Alvadore Bull was a member of the first wave of non-Native American immigrants in the Kittitas Valley, which is located immediately east of the Cascade Mountains in Central Washington. 
When Bull came to the area in 1869, he was a thirty-year-old bachelor and Union veteran of the Civil War. He purchased a 160-acre property east of what is now the city of Ellensburg. 
He was married to Mary Jane "Jennie" Olmstead in 1872, and the couple had five children before she died at the young age of 40, due to complications from a pregnancy.
The following year, Bull married Rebecca Nelson Frisbee, who was also a widow, and together they had two more children. Bull's land holdings had grown significantly over the years, and he had established himself as a prominent citizen of the growing community. 
As the county's first probate judge, he was also one of the founding members of the Seattle and Walla Walla Trail and Wagon Road Company, which was founded in 1883.
Bull's financial situation was ruined by the financial collapse known as the Panic of 1893, and his health deteriorated as a result of the collapse. 
In the final months of his life, he relocated to the Okanogan Valley, where he had a number of mining claims that he believed would be profitable in the future. 
On the 4th of March, 1898, he passed away there, and his remains remained there for a period of time before his body could be returned to Ellensburg for proper burial. 
Although he died in a tragic accident, Walter Bull had a significant impact on the development of the Kittitas Valley, and many of his descendants still remain in the area today.
Listen now to learn more about this unique gentleman in the history of Ellensburg!

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