A8
COMMUNITY
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Wallowa History Center celebrates with open house
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
After two years of hard
work by volunteers and an
occasional contractor, the
Wallowa History Center
has a new home. Last spring
they moved into the his-
toric, Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC)-built, U.S.
Forest Service compound
on the west end of Wallowa.
On July 4th the Center will
celebrate its new digs with
an open house from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. where you can
learn more about the his-
toric facility, and the His-
tory Center’s projects and
plans for the future.
The CCC began con-
struction of the fi ve build-
ings of the Forest Service
compound in 1936. They
are a testament to the long
presence of Forest Ser-
vice in the town of Wal-
lowa. In 1907, the newly
ordained Wallowa For-
est Supervisor’s offi ce was
located in Wallowa. In 1936
that offi ce moved to Enter-
prise, but the District rang-
er’s offi ce remained in Wal-
lowa—along with its brand
new buildings that included
a home for the district
ranger, the Forest Service
Offi ce, an ample garage,
and a large storage building.
The History Center pres-
ently occupies the build-
ing that housed U.S.F.S.
offi ces. It includes dis-
plays of historic photo-
Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa History Center
director Mary Ann Burrows
and Smokey the Bear are
ready to welcome visitors
to the History Center’s open
house July 4.
The historic Forest Service compound includes an offi ce building, garage, and storage building.
graphs, and a small store
that sells books, maps, and
a few other things, includ-
ing Smokey the Bear mem-
orabilia. But there’s much
more to the center than that.
“We are really a research
facility,” said History Cen-
ter board president David
Weaver. “We have archived
a lot of historic materi-
als. We have digital copies
of many photographs. Per-
haps our most important
resource is Mary Ann Bur-
rows, our founder, director
and local historian. We are
not a “museum” in the sense
that you go around and just
look at a lot of things. We
are a resource for the com-
munity and to anyone who
is researching or learn-
ing about the history of the
town of Wallowa.”
That includes working
with the Wallowa Schools.
In May, Wallowa Elemen-
tary School’s Rendezvous
brought about 90 students
and teachers to the center
to learn about their heri-
tage. Center visitors have
included families from
Portland, Boise, and even
Germany.
It took a bevy of dedi-
cated volunteers from the
City of Wallowa, U.S. For-
est Service, Oregon Depart-
“We took
our daughter to
Dr. Allen on several
occasions, and we
were extremely
happy with the care
we received…”
ment of Forestry, and the
community about two years
to restore the building.
Several local contractors
pitched in too. “The car-
pets were fi lthy and every-
thing was run down when
we started,” said Executive
Director Mary Ann Bur-
rows. “There was plywood
nailed to the fl oor under
them, and a layer of lino-
leum below that. But under-
neath all that accumulation
there were beautiful wood
fl oors.” Today, cleaned
and refi nished by Chris-
tian Niece, the narrow pine
fl ooring glows. The rest of
the building proudly pres-
ents CCC craftsmanship at
every turn, from the stylish
arched entryway and knotty
pine paneling, to the geo-
metric wooden border at the
top of the conference room
walls.
But the USFS offi ce is
only one of the multiple
buildings on the site. With
the help of funding from
the Oregon Cultural Trust,
the History Center board
of directors is developing
a timeline for future resto-
ration projects. The History
Center’s next challenge will
be restoring the large USFS
shop and storage building
into something more akin to
Wallowa County Museum holds open house
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
-Enterprise Mom
Dr. Allen is a family
practice physician and
doctor of osteopathic
medicine.
Call Dr. Allen to
schedule your appointment today!
541-426-7900
Mountain View Medical Group
603 Medical Parkway
(next to Wallowa
Memorial Hospital)
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
Ellen Morris Bishop
an educational and resource
center.
Plans for that work are in
the very early stages, board
president David Weaver
noted. They include provid-
ing information about the
history of the U.S. Forest
Service in Wallowa County,
and a historical timeline of
the City of Wallowa and
Wallowa County, as well
as an area for presentations
and gatherings.
The History Center is
collaborating with the Wal-
lowa Band Nez Perce Inter-
pretive Center, the Wallowa
County Museum, Josephy
Center, and other Wallowa
County nonprofi ts. “We
want to support and collab-
orate with all these organi-
zations,” Weaver said. “We
may be one of the fi rst places
that people who are com-
ing into Wallowa County to
the area will visit. We want
to be sure that they know
about all the wonderful
places where they can learn
more, including the Wal-
lowa Band Nez Perce Inter-
pretive Center, the Wallowa
County Museum, and all the
other great places to get to
know Wallowa County.
That project is still sev-
eral years down the road,
with planning and funding
needs that will take time.
But the Wallowa History
Center’s restored Forest
Service offi ce building that
you can explore today is a
great start.
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is a equal opportunity mployer and provider
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The Wallowa County
Museum, the county’s offi -
cial repository of histori-
cal items and information,
held an open house on Fri-
day, June 28. It was a pop-
ular event, not only because
of the cookies, cake and
lemonade served, but also
because the museum’s con-
tents are fascinating. Where
else can you see the real
tooth and tusk of a 17-foot
tall Columbian Mammoth
that once walked the prai-
ries just north of Enterprise?
Or browse through the care-
ful essays and impressive
artwork of Wallowa County
fi rst-graders
that
were
proudly displayed at the
1905 Lewis and Clark Cen-
tennial Exposition in Port-
land Exhibition?
The Wallowa County
Museum is housed in the
historic First Bank of Joseph
building, built in 1888.
Local volunteers started the
museum in 1976 as a bicen-
tennial project. In 1978 the
building, on South Main
Street in Joseph, was entered
in the National Register of
Historic Places.
The museum’s fi rst fl oor
includes a Nez Perce room
complete with mortars, pes-
tles, and other tools, an
authentic teepee and travois
(the horse pulling it is life-
sized but doesn’t move very
much). If you follow a pas-
sageway to the “back room”
which was once the Joseph
Fire Station, you’ll fi nd
To our Friends and Business Community
The July 4th fireworks will soon be upon us. We have a long ways to go
to reach our goal. We need $13,500 for the fireworks and $500 for public
services.
So far we have raised $5,579
We are asking residents and businesses to support the fireworks with a
donation of $25, $50 or $100 or more. This amount, when added together
with all of the other fundraising activities, will make it possible to pay
for insurance, public services, and the support of the fireworks crew. All
donations of $25 or greater will be entered into a drawing to win a two
person Jet Boat Trip in Hells Canyon. This year Beamer’s Landing has
provided the drawing prize.
ALL DONATIONS ARE IMPORTANT.
Ellen Morris Bishop
The Wallowa County Museum is owned and managed by
Wallowa County. It is located in the historic First Bank of
Joseph building on South Main Street in Joseph.
buckaroo gear, including an
exhibit honoring the centen-
nial of the McClaran ranch,
Nellie May Biggs’ side-sad-
dle, and a compact 1919
Chandler and Price printing
press, which seems a bit out
of place, but still intriguing,
among the wool chaps, Cliff
Wade polo bits, cream sepa-
rators, and butter churns.
The museum’s second
fl oor is well-lit and dedicated
to schools, homes, and fam-
ilies. You’ll fi nd a curious
black wedding dress, diora-
mas that display period din-
ing rooms and kitchens, and
information about pioneer
and early Wallowa County
lives. You’ll also discover
a variety of military uni-
forms and history, including
glimpses of Wallowa County
veterans during the fi rst and
second world wars. Photos
and information about Wal-
lowa County’s 90 (ninety)
school districts and their
mostly one-room school-
houses is up there as well. In
the 1920’s and 1930’s most
of these schools were busy
educating Wallowa Coun-
ty’s youth.
The museum includes
an extensive archive of his-
toric photographs, newspa-
pers, scrapbooks, and docu-
ments that are available for
research. They have digi-
tal copies of the glass neg-
atives, and volunteers are
gradually completing the
daunting task of scanning
and creating digital copies of
their images and negatives.
And the museum store car-
ries many hard-to fi nd books
about local history, as well
as DVDs and artwork.
The museum’s summer
hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
daily. Admission is $4 for
adults, $3 for Seniors, $2 for
children ages 7-17, and chil-
dren under 6 are free. For
more information (or to vol-
unteer) call 541-432-6095.
SPACE
RESERVATION
DEADLINES
for weekly advertising is 5pm
Friday for the following week.
Ad copy is due on Monday at
10am. Ads must be approved by
Tuesday at 12pm.
Our Offices will be Closed on the 4th of July
Contact Jennifer today
for all your advertising needs!
at jcooney@ wallowa.com • 541-805-9630
Fireworks will be Thursday, July 4 at approximately 10 PM
Please help us keep this celebration alive in Wallowa County. Donations can be sent to
the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 427, Enterprise, OR 97828. For
further information contact the Chamber, 541 426-4622 or info@wallowacounty.org.
209 NW First St., Enterprise • 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com