Stories of Wallowa Lake
Rita Ehrler & Ellen Morris Bishop
From Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce before white settlers arrived, to Sockeye Salmon's extinction and future restoration, Wallowa Lake Amusement Parks, the competition between an electric railroad and a steam railroad to serve Wallowa County, early rodeos at the lake, ski resorts that never happened, the restoration of elk in the county and at the lake, the subterfuge that almost established a national park in the center of the Wallowa Mountains, and much, much more, the stories told here are both memorable and revealing. This photo-rich book will ignite your interest in the past and present of Wallowa Lake and the unique landscapes and communities of Wallowa County.
With 290 rare historic photos, five illustrations and 248 engaging pages. Published in 2022. $29.95
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Available at fine bookstores and gift shops, including The Bookloft, Enterprise; Copper Creek, Joseph; Heidi's, Wallowa Lake and Heidi's Town Shoppe in Joseph; Wallowa Lake Lodge, Betty's Books, Baker City; Waucoma Books, Hood River; And Books, Too, Clarkston, WA.; Powell's City of Books, Portland; Oregon Historical Society, Portland, and, of course, through this website: www.eaglecappress.com.
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Scroll down for excerpts and the table of contents.
Excerpt
The Railroad Steams into Town
The stagecoach ride to Wallowa County was daunting. Teamsters hauling freight by wagon experienced frequent run-aways, tip-overs, and sometimes the loss of everything including the death of their horses. Construction of a safer road along the Wallowa River in about 1900 made halting progress, with frequent controversies over funding and labor. And at its best, the river road was muddy, rocky, narrow and still dangerous.
So the construction of a railway line into the county from the rail-head at Elgin was a high priority for many, especially the businesses that depended upon tourism. That was especially true in Joseph and at Wallowa Lake.
In August 1905 word came that P.A. Worthington, the "right-of-way" man for the Oregon Rail and Navigation Company, was looking to purchase easements from property owners along the Wallowa River, from the confluence of the Wallowa River and the Grande Ronde all the way to Joseph. The O.R.&N. Co. was evidently backed by Edward H. Harriman, who controlled the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Illinois Central and other rail and stagecoach transportation companies.
In a front page article on August 24, 1905, the Wallowa Chieftain newspaper summed up the local, optimistic view that: "It should mean that Wallowa County's growth for the next few years will attract the attention of the outside world and rank among the wealthiest counties of the Northwest."
But at the same time, another line, the Wallowa Valley Railroad Company, was seeking support from the general public and from Wallowa County. They planned to construct an electric railway line that would connect Wallowa County with Walla Walla.
On October 5, 1905 a short paragraph, buried in business briefs on page 4 of the Wallowa Chieftain, reported: "W.J. Cook, of the Wallowa Valley Railroad Company, is in the city securing subscribers to the $150,000 subsidy which the Company asks from this County as an inducement for them to build an electric railway from here to Walla Walla. Mr. Cook feels that this amount can be raised and assures people that the road will be built within two years."
This was not the only electric railway in Oregon with high hopes at the time...
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Photo: O.R.&N. Co. Engine 55 hauls a work crew and materials through the Wallowa River canyon as the railroad nears completion in 1908. Courtesy, Wallowa History Center
Excerpt
Wallowa National Park
The Wallowa National Park Association proposed a rectangle-shaped 66,500-acre park that encompassed the Lakes Basin and included Sacajewea, the Matterhorn and Eagle cap as well as Minam Lake, Steamboat Lake, Glacier Lake, Ice Lake and Aneroid Lake. It did not extend to or include Wallowa Lake.
The proposed northern boundary also excluded the Pacific Power generating station and the trailhead area. Exactly how great numbers of the public would access the remote country of the Lakes basin was not specified on the map. However, at a public meeting in La Grande in Mid-September, the directors maintained that "...good roads would be built by the government with approaches from various counties." The access points would be from Wallowa lake, Cornucopia, Lostine, Cove, the Minam River, and Medical Springs. Four of those could be "easily and quickly developed," the directors said.
Excerpt
The Return of Rocky Mountain Elk
A stout team of four horses was hitched to each wagon. Where the slopes were steep, additional horses were borrowed from other wagons for the uphill stretch. Some places required an eight-horse team. It took three days to haul the elk-laden wagons the 50 miles to the Billy Meadows enclosure. They made only 25 miles in the first two days...
At the third overnight camp about 15 miles from Billy Meadows, the elk "drovers" encountered deep snow. They exchanged wagon wheels for sled runners. This required that the entire wagon, complete with crated elk, had to be hoisted off the snowy ground using a block and tackle secured over a sturdy pine tree limb.
The wheels and axles of each wagon were removed and the wagon bed (and elk in their crate) was dropped down and fastened to the "go-devil" sled runners. The snow was more than four feet deep at this point.
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Photo: William L. Finley, March, 1912. Courtesy, Oregon Historical Society
Table of Contents
7 ...... Acknowledgements
8 ...... Forward
9 ...... Preamble: Wallowa Lake and the Alps: A Geologic Story
13 ...... Part I: A Short History of Wallowa Lake and Its Communities
25 ...... Part II Stories of Wallowa Lake and Its Communities
25 ...... How the Wallowa Mountains Got Their Name
29 ...... The NimÃipuu
39 ...... Stagecoach Travels and Travails
43 ...... An Electrifying History
46 ...... The Railroad Steams Into Town
55 ...... The Reburial of Tiwiteqis (Old Chief Joseph)
61 ...... The Reel Story
65 ...... Skating at the Lake
66 ...... The Excursion Boats
69 ...... Wallowa Lake (Amusement) Park
80 ...... Wallowa Lake Lodge: The Beginning
85 ...... Wallowa Lake Lodge: The Wiggins Family
92 ...... Wallowa Lake Lodge Corrals
93 ...... Wallowa Lake Lodge: The story continues
95 ...... The Williamsons
99 ...... The Elks Lodge
102 ...... The White Elephant and the M.J.G. Dude Ranch
110 ...... Edelweiss Chalet /Holiday Inn
113 ...... Wallowa Lake Square and Round Dance Jamboree
115 ...... Alpenfest: Switzerland Comes to the Lake
121 ...... Matterhorn Swiss Village
130 ...... Hall’s Cabins at Wallowa Lake
132 ...... Vali’s Alpine Deli and Restaurant
136 ...... Benson’s Log Cabins
139 ...... Eagle Cap Chalets
141 ...... Russell’s at the Lake
145 ...... Jack’s Go Carts & Mini-Golf
148 ...... Burgett’s Wallowa Lake Store
149 ...... Harley Hamilton Corrals and Cabins
153 ...... Watson’s Flying Arrow Cabins & Corral Resort
156 ...... Wallowa Lake Corrals
159 ...... Eagle Cap Wilderness Pack Station
161 ...... Rodeos at the Lake
164 ...... Wallowa Lake United Methodist Camp
167 ...... Camp Wallowa: Blue Mountain Boy Scouts
172 ...... High Wallowas Inc. Gondola
178 ...... Wallowa Lake Tramway
181 ...... Wallowa National Park
187 ...... Wallowa Lake State Park
190 ...... Wallowa Lake and Its Fish: a Sockeye Saga
197 ...... The Restoration of Rocky Mountain Elk
222 ...... The McCully Family
227 ...... Aneroid Lake and Its Caretakers
232 ...... Wallowa Lake Goes to Switzerland
234 ...... Wallowa Lake Goes Hollywood
237 ...... The Wallowa Lake Monster
244 ...... Sources & References
Photo: Diving Platform at Wallowa Lake Amusement Park, July, 1923