Wallowa County
County seat
Enterprise
Judicial district
10th Judicial District (Union and Wallowa counties). Wallowa County Circuit Court, Wallowa County Courthouse.
County website
Population, 2020 Census
7,391
Area
3,146 square miles of land
Federal land
| 57.8% | All federal agencies |
| 56.7% | Forest Service |
| 1.0% | BLM |
Land and economy
About 7,400 people live in Wallowa County, four in ten of them in Enterprise and Joseph. Agriculture, livestock, forest products, art and recreation are the principal industries, and tourism draws visitors to Wallowa Lake and Hells Canyon (Oregon Blue Book). Wallowa Memorial Hospital is in Enterprise. Oregon Route 82 runs from La Grande and Interstate 84 to Joseph (City of Joseph economic analysis). Wallowa and Union counties bought the rail line from Elgin to Joseph in 2002, and the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority (WURA) operates it (Eagle Cap Train Rides). The excursion train runs between Elgin and Minam, and pedal-powered rail bikes run from Joseph and from Minam (Joseph Branch Railriders).
The valley of the Wallowa River is ranch and farm ground, with canyon grazing land falling toward the Imnaha, Grande Ronde and Snake. Nearly three-fifths of the county is federal, almost all of it Forest Service, including the Eagle Cap Wilderness and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Outside the cities, the Land Development Ordinance sets farm and timber zones, partition rules and road standards. Boundaries run back to a government survey, and the county surveyor helps restore its corners. Irrigation water is regulated by the watermaster in Enterprise.
Cities
| City | Population, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Enterprise, county seat. On Highway 82 in the Wallowa Valley, with the county courthouse, Wallowa Memorial Hospital and a city airport. City hall: 102 E North Street, Enterprise, OR 97828, 541-426-4196. | 2,052 |
| Joseph. At the end of Highway 82, a mile north of Wallowa Lake, with bronze foundries, the county museum and Chief Joseph Days each July. City hall: 201 N Main Street, Joseph, OR 97846, 541-432-3832. | 1,154 |
| Wallowa. On the Wallowa River at the lower end of the valley, home to the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland and the Wallowa History Center. City hall: 104 N Pine Street, Wallowa, OR 97885, 541-886-2422. | 796 |
| Lostine. On the Lostine River and Highway 82 between Wallowa and Enterprise. City hall: 128 Highway 82, Lostine, OR 97857, 541-569-2415. | 241 |
Unincorporated communities: Bartlett, Eden, Evans, Flora, Fruita, Grouse, Imnaha, Lewis, Maxville, Minam, Paradise, Promise, Troy, Zumwalt.
2020 Census, P.L. 94-171 Redistricting File, place level. City hall addresses and incorporation years from the Oregon Blue Book city pages, read 2026-09-05. Blurbs rewritten 2026-10-03 from the Chamber, hospital, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, county museum and City of Joseph economic analysis, with the facts already in this file.
Courts and public offices
Appeals go to the Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem. Federal cases from the county are filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon and heard in the Pendleton Division.
- Wallowa County Circuit CourtWallowa County Courthouse, 101 S River Street, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4991 · courts.oregon.gov. 8 to noon and 1 to 4:30, Monday to Friday; drop box beside the court's service window
- County Clerk (recording, elections, passports, Property Value Appeals Board)Wallowa County Courthouse, 101 S River Street, Room 100, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4543, ext. 1158 · co.wallowa.or.us · Recording. Monday to Friday 8:30 to 5; recording 8:30 to 4:30
- County Assessor (property records, plat maps, assessment)Wallowa County Courthouse, 101 S River Street, Room 104, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4543, ext. 1146 · co.wallowa.or.us. Monday to Thursday 8:30 to 5, Friday 8:30 to 3
- County Surveyor (records of survey, subdivision plats, section corner restoration)101 S River Street, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4543 · co.wallowa.or.us · Survey records. Richard Shaver, appointed by the Board of Commissioners; in private practice, as in most rural Oregon counties. Scanned surveys are sent by email on request.
- Planning Department (land use applications, zoning, partitions)Wallowa County Courthouse, 101 S River Street, Room 105, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4543, ext. 1170 · co.wallowa.or.us
- Sheriff (civil process; press 0 for civil)Wallowa County Justice Center, 104 West Greenwood Street, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-3131 · co.wallowa.or.us
- County Commissioners101 S River Street, Enterprise, OR 97828 · 541-426-4543 · co.wallowa.or.us
- Watermaster, Oregon Water Resources Department (water rights regulation and distribution)Enterprise · oregon.gov. Address, phone and district from the OWRD directory.
- United States District Court, District of Oregon, Pendleton Division (federal cases from Wallowa County)John F. Kilkenny U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, 104 SW Dorion Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801 · Clerk's office, Portland, 503-326-8000 · ord.uscourts.gov. The Pendleton courthouse is not staffed; filings go to the Portland clerk.
National forests and public land
- Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
- Wallowa Mountains Office, Joseph (Wallowa Valley Ranger District, Eagle Cap Ranger District, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area)201 East Second Street, Joseph, OR 97846 · 541-426-5546
- Hells Canyon National Recreation Area
- Eagle Cap Wilderness
- Umatilla National ForestThe forest's ground in the north of the county is administered from the Pomeroy and Walla Walla ranger districts.
- Pomeroy Ranger District, Umatilla National Forest
- BLM Vale District, Baker Field OfficeBLM ground along the Grande Ronde and Wallowa rivers.
- Nez Perce National Historical ParkNational Park Service; sites in the county include Old Chief Joseph's gravesite at Wallowa Lake.
Maps and property records
- ORMAPTax lots over aerial photos and the assessor's plat maps; the county's GIS page points here.
- Wallowa County GISParcels, zoning, addressing.
- Wallowa County GIS links
- County surveyor's survey recordsScanned records of survey, shared by the surveyor.
- Oregon Spatial Data LibraryDownloadable layers.
Laws and land use rules
- Wallowa County Land Development Ordinance, by article
- Wallowa County comprehensive plan goals
- Wallowa County ordinances
- Enterprise Municipal CodeOn Municode.
- Joseph code of ordinances and land use documentsCharter, code (on American Legal Publishing), land use plan, zoning map.
Development
- Northeast Oregon Economic Development DistrictServes Baker, Union and Wallowa counties with small business loans, workshops and matched savings accounts. Office at 101 NE First Street, Enterprise.
- Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce, business servicesEnterprise, 541-426-4622. Lists the business, planning and advising offices in the county.
- Blue Mountain Small Business Development CenterNo-cost advising and workshops for Umatilla, Wallowa and Baker counties, with an office in Enterprise.
- Wallowa Resources, community and economy programsEnterprise nonprofit with a workforce housing subsidiary and a community energy program.
- Joseph State AirportState-owned, 5,200-foot runway one mile west of Joseph, used for aerial firefighting and general aviation.
Resources
- Oregon Judicial Department self-helpForms, fee waivers, representing yourself in circuit court.
- OJD eFile
- OJCIN OnlineCase records and calendars.
- BLM General Land Office RecordsOriginal patents and survey plats.
- Oregon Water Resources Department water rights
- Oregon Water Resources Department watermaster directory
- Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
History
The Wallowa Valley was the homeland of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce (Oregon Encyclopedia, Heinmot Tooyalakekt). Settlers arrived in 1871 and 1872, and the legislature created Wallowa County from the eastern end of Union County on February 11, 1887 (Oregon Blue Book). Enterprise has been the county seat since the 1888 election (Oregon Encyclopedia, Enterprise).
Further reading
- Oregon Blue Book: Wallowa CountyOregon Secretary of State
- Wallowa County MuseumWallowa County110 S Main Street, Joseph, OR 97846110 S Main Street, Joseph, in the 1888 First Bank of Joseph building; the collection began with John Harley Horner, the county's first historian.
- Josephy Center for Arts and Culture and the Josephy Library of Western History and Culture403 N Main Street, Joseph, OR 97846403 N Main Street, Joseph. Library at library.josephy.org.
- Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland209 E 2nd Street, Wallowa, OR 97885209 East Second Street, Wallowa; the 320-acre Homeland grounds and visitor center.
- Wallowa History Center602 W 1st Street, Wallowa, OR 97885602 W 1st Street, Wallowa. Photos, diaries, oral histories and the digitized 1902 Illustrated History.
- Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph) (1840-1904)Elliott West, Oregon Encyclopedia, 2021
Sources for the figures
- Population: 2020 Census, P.L. 94-171 Redistricting File, Oregon, table P1
- Area: Census Bureau 2020 Gazetteer, Oregon counties: 3,145.90 sq mi land, 5.48 water
- Federal land: BLM National Surface Management Agency dataset, clipped to the Census county boundary and measured in Albers equal-area by maps/fedland.py; SMA data edited 2026-07-03; computed 2026-09-05. State of Oregon 16,600 acres (0.8 percent); private 833,600 acres (41.3 percent); 1,800 acres coded undetermined.
- Unincorporated places: USGS Geographic Names Information System, Oregon populated places, downloaded 2026-09-05; historical entries omitted
- County, court and city addresses checked Sat Sep 05.