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History · Wallowa

Wallowa’s post office opened in 1873, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 5 buildings. Below: maps from 1910 on and the census since 1900.

1873first post office
2on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Wallowa began

When was Wallowa founded?

1873

The Wallowa post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1899.

First census: 243 in 19002020 census: 796153 years
Founding year: the first Wallowa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1899.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wallowa’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Wallowa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wallowa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Wallowa’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Wallowa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wallowa.

Read it all →

The Wallowa Valley is within the traditional lands of the Nez Perce. In the late 19th century, the Wallowa band was one of more than a dozen groups who lived across the inland Northwest as members of the Nez Perce tribe. The U.S. government sent the army to force them out after they refused to sign a treaty that would have removed them from their land. Chief Joseph led tribal members more than 1,000 miles to western Montana. They repeatedly battled with the army as they fled.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Wallowa, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Wallowa wilderness hike 20232023Wallowa wilderness hike 2023Wallowa - DPLA - 98ed7f9e18eb37d40d9d8323aeec60c42012Wallowa - DPLA - 98ed7f9e18eb37d40d9d8323aeec60c4Wallowa River at2010Wallowa River atWallowa - DPLA - abfedc81ab866f8cb79f5973930c52a62009Wallowa - DPLA - abfedc81ab866f8cb79f5973930c52a6ORMap-doton-Wallowa2004ORMap-doton-Wallowa
On the map

Wallowa on the map, 1964 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wallowa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wallowa on the 1964 USGS mapWallowa on the 1984 USGS map1964Wallowa sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wallowa.

Every building

Wallowa, building by building, 1910–1917

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Wallowa fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Wallowa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Hunter-Morelock House
Hunter-Morelock HouseWallowa Ranger Station
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Rustic Style1
Hunter-Morelock HouseVernacular
Wallowa Ranger StationLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Rustic Style

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Wallowa, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,055

Between 243 and 1,055 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Wallowa’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Wallowa

Nobody well known was born in Wallowa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dale T. MortensenAmerican economist · b. 1939
Margaret Osborne duPontAmerican tennis player · b. 1918
Agnes VernonActress · b. 1895
Lee MorseAmerican singer · b. 1897
D
Dallas McKennonAmerican actor · b. 1919
John F. NugentAmerican politician · b. 1868

Questions about Wallowa’s history

What year was Wallowa founded?

The Wallowa post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1899.

What is on the National Register in Wallowa?

Two places: the Hunter-Morelock House (listed 1985) and the Wallowa Ranger Station (2009).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.