About St. Ignatius

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Saint Ignatius Hospital was built by Mother Joseph Pariseau in 1893, and served as Whitman County’s hospital until 1968 when it was decommissioned. It has been unused since 2003.

Decades of neglect have left the building in poor condition. It has appeared on the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation’s “Most Endangered Watch List” every year since 2015. Our hope is that the building will one day be redeveloped and put to new uses, but in order to do that we must first keep it from deteriorating past the point that it can be repaired.

Our project has three phases:

1. Stabilization. This is such a big goal that it’s all we’re focused on initially. We want to make sure the building will be around for the next 100 years.
2. Ongoing Preservation. Uses like ghost tours, historic & photo tours, and events on the lawn are all key to ongoing preservation.
3. Rehabilitation and Reuse. Once we stabilize the building, we can start thinking about historically sensitive adaptive reuse. We’re inviting the community to help dream with us- the possibilities are endless!

Old buildings are challenging- full of inefficiencies and idiosyncrasies. But they are irreplaceable, and because of that they are priceless. They tie us to the past and the future, providing tangible connections to ways of life which are gone and inspiring us to pass that gift on to the next generation.

Even though it seems like an huge challenge, we are confident that through our partnership with the Whitman County Historical Society, the Colfax Chamber, and an army of intrepid volunteers, we will save St. Ignatius Hospital!