The highway corridors in the Palouse are, for the most part, extensions of the Indian trails, wagon roads, and railroads that once connected the features, farms, and towns in the Palouse region. Ribbons of road wind casually through the soothing scenery of rolling fields and connecting small towns.

Whitman County is named in memory of Marcus Whitman, a Protestant missionary killed, along with his wife and other followers, by Indians in 1847. The county is part of what is called The Palouse and includes sixteen incorporated communities.