Wallowa County, Oregon Genealogy

Guide to Wallowa County, Oregon ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Oregon Online Genealogy Records

Description
Wallowa County was named for the Nez Perce term for a structure of stakes (a weir) used in fishing. The county is located in the northeastern area of the state.

County Courthouse
County Clerk has birth records 1907-1943 marriage, land and military records from 1897 divorce, probate and court records from 1897-1970 and naturalization records 1897-1920. Circuit Court has divorce, probate and court records from 1971.



Wallowa County Government

Historical Facts
11 February 1887: Wallowa county was created from Union County.

Named for Wallowa River. Lewis and Clark Expedition journals recorded Wil-le-wahas the name.


 * Records Held at the Courthouse

County Records Inventory listing the records held at the Wallowa County Court House as of July 2004.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Populated Places
For a complete list of populated places, including small neighborhoods and suburbs, visit HomeTown Locator.

The following are the most historically and genealogically relevant populated places in this county:

The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have websites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names. Defunct Post Offices


 * Alder Slope: Alder post office, the third in what is now Wallowa County, was established Apr. 5, 1878, with Henry Beecher first postmaster. The office was discontinued Oct. 9, 1890.

Trivia Tidbits
Information about localities, too small or too brief to describe in separate pages. Exception to this are Post Offices. &gt; Trivia Tidbits

Biography
Trivia Tidbits: Little biographic bits associated with the names of non-population localities.


 * 35 years on Smith Mountain
 * My days in northeast Oregon: a memoir of wagon trains and pack strings in the 1890s
 * Angel from Paradise: the life and times of a Wallowa County cowboy
 * Of men and mountains

Cemeteries

 * Oregon Metro
 * Oregon Genealogy Cemeteries

Church History and Records
List of Churches and Church Parishes


 * FamilySearch Places

County Records

 * County Records Inventory lists record collections and locations held.

Farms - Ranches

 * Wallowa County brand book, 1921 May 1
 * Index to chattel mortgages, Wallowa County, Oregon, 1913-1931

Gazetteers

 * Origin of Wallowa County place names
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

History

 * About Wallowa County: people, places, images
 * An Illustrated history of Union and Wallowa counties: with a brief outline of the early history of the state of Oregon
 * The old and the new: history of the post offices of Wallowa County
 * The Wallowa country, 1867-1877
 * The History of Wallowa County, Oregon
 * Historical sketches of Wallowa National Forest
 * Reminiscences of Wallowa County
 * Wallowa, the land of winding waters
 * Carving the north end wilderness;: Flora
 * Bits of Wallowa County lore
 * This valley: (Wallowa Valley)
 * The flora country; the hardships and struggles of the Matt Devin family as pioneers in northern Wallowa County, Oregon.
 * Gateway to the Wallowas
 * From The Wallowas
 * Pioneering in the Wallowas: four frontier tales
 * Heritage of the Wallowas: life as it was
 * Wallowa County, the Northwest's most scenic area; a land of beauty and opportunity
 * Memories: a nostalgic look at life in northeast Oregon
 * Wallowa County, Oregon: a capsule history
 * The story of Wallowa Lake
 * The forgotten grist and flour mills of Wallowa County, Oregon: a history of the eight grist or flour mills that have operated in Wallowa County, Oregon
 * Wallowa County, Oregon : the land of peace, prosperity and happiness

Maps

 * Map of Wallowa County, Oregon, 1922
 * Metsker's atlas of Wallowa County, Oregon, 1935
 * FamilySearch Places: Map of cities and towns in this county - How to Use FS Places

Civil War

 * 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

World War I

 * 1919-1920 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1921-1938 at FamilySearch — index and images

Newspapers
See Enterprise, Joseph and Wallowa for the newspapers published in these cities.

Oregon Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Periodicals

 * Signal mountain: Wallowa County's own historical magazine

Probate Records
Online Records


 * 1833–1963 Oregon Wills and Probate Records 1833-1963 at Ancestry.com — index and images ($)

Rivers and Waterways
Details about the rivers and waterways where farms and settlements are often found along them. Rivers and Waterways

Schools

 * School days in the Wallowas: a history of the ninety-one schools and communities, past and present, of Wallowa County, Oregon

Birth Records

 * 1842-1917 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images (*); Also at: Ancestry
 * 1860-1952 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1876-1940 at FamilySearch — How to Use this Collection; index & images

Marriage Records

 * 1826-1975 Oregon, United States Marriages at Findmypast — index ($)
 * 1842-1917 Oregon, U.S., State Births, 1842-1917 at Ancestry - index and images ($); Also at: 
 * 1849-1884; 1991-2006 at FamilySearch — index and images; collection is incomplete.
 * 1906-1968 Oregon, U.S., State Marriages, 1906-1968 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
 * Wallowa County, Oregon, marriage records, 1887-1983
 * Many early marriages are listed at the Western States Marriage Index.

Death Records

 * Coroner's inquest, Wallowa County, Oregon, 1906-1915

Voting Records

 * 1) Election voter register, Wallowa County, Oregon, 1902, 1906, 1914

Societies, Libraries and Museums
Wallowa County Libraries101 S River St Enterprise, OR 97828 Website

Wallowa County Museum 110 S Main St Joseph, OR 97846 Phone: 541-432-6095 Email: [mailto:sroberts@co.wallowa.or.us sroberts@co.wallowa.or.us] Website Facebook

Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center 211 E 2nd St Wallowa, OR 97885 Phone: 541-886-3670 Website

Family History Centers

 * Elgin Oregon Family History Center
 * Enterprise Oregon Family History Center
 * The Genealogical Forum of Oregon - an affiliate library

Websites

 * The Wallowa County GenWeb Project, part of The ORGenWeb Project
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * for the latest