Wallowa County, Oregon

My partner, Scott, and I love Wallowa County and even though we live in Walla Walla now, we still have a cabin in the Wallowa Mountains. This is our get away to peace, quiet and to reconnect to our spirits and soul.

If you have never been to Wallowa County you should treat yourself to a weekend of relaxation and beauty. The pace is slow, the people are friendly and the scenery is breath taking. The Wallowa Mountinas have been called the Alps of North America.

Wallowa Lake and the Wallowa Mountains attract tourists to this region. The lake is a natural glacial formation, held in on three sides by prominent moraines. The microclimate is somewhat different from the surrounding areas and provides a cool retreat during the summer.

The principal industries in Wallowa County are agriculture, ranching, lumber, and tourism. Since 1985, three bronze foundries and a number of related businesses specializing in statue-making have opened in Joseph and Enterprise, helping to stabilize the local economy. The Forest Service is the largest landlord in the county, owning 56% of the land.

Wallowa County History

In 1871, the first white settlers came to the area, crossing the mountains in search of livestock feed in the Wallowa Valley. The county was established on February 11, 1887, from the eastern portion of Union County. Boundary changes occurred with Union County in 1890, 1900, and 1915.

In 1877, the younger Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, incensed at the government's attempt to deprive his people of the Wallowa Valley, refused to be moved to an Idaho reservation. Several regiments of United States troops were dispatched to force him onto the reservation. After several battles and a march of almost two thousand miles towards sanctuary in Canada, Chief Joseph was forced to surrender in Montana, forty miles from the Canadian border. He and some of the survivors from his band were detained in Oklahoma, and later were relocated to Colville Reservation in Washington State. Approximately half of the survivors moved to the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho.