The Wallowa County Courthouse is the seat of government for
Wallowa County
Wallowa County () is the northeastern most county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to ''Oregon Geographic Name ...
in northeastern
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. The courthouse is located in
Enterprise, Oregon
Enterprise is a city in and the county seat of Wallowa County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,940 in the 2010 census. . It was built in 1909–1910 using locally quarried stone. It is a massive
High Victorian
High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right.
Promo ...
structure built of local Bowlby stone.
The courthouse was listed on
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2000. Today, the courthouse still houses Wallowa County government offices.
History
Wallowa County is located in the northeastern corner of Oregon. It is bordered by
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
and
Umatilla counties to the west, Union and
Baker
A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery.
History
Ancient history
Since grains ha ...
counties to the south, the state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
on the north, and
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
to the east. The county is bordered geographically by the
Wallowa Mountains
The Wallowa Mountains () are a mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States. The range runs approximately northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County and eastern Union County between the ...
on the south and west, the
Grande Ronde River
The Grande Ronde River ( or, less commonly, ) is a tributary of the Snake River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 3, 2011 in northeastern Oregon and southeastern ...
canyon on the north, and the
Snake River
The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
and
Hells Canyon
Hells Canyon is a canyon in the Western United States, located along the border of eastern Oregon, a small section of eastern Washington and western Idaho. It is part of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which is also located in p ...
on the east.
["Wallowa County Courthouse"](_blank)
(PDF), National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 18 May 2000.["Wallowa County History"](_blank)
''Oregon Historical County Records Guide'', Oregon State Archives, Oregon Secretary of State, Salem, Oregon, 23 July 2012.
The first post office in the Wallowa Valley was established in 1874. The first town in the area was
Lostine, which was founded in 1875. The town of
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
was established in 1879. Wallowa County was formally separated from Union County in February 1887, the same year the town of Enterprise was founded. When the county was first formed, Joseph became the interim county seat. However, Enterprise was selected as the permanent county seat of Wallowa County in 1888.
Originally, the Wallowa County government rented office space on the second floor of a building on Main Street in Enterprise. In 1898, citizens proposed building a courthouse, but county officials decided it was cheaper to continue renting office space. A decade later, county officials finally decided to build a permanent court building to house county offices. Local citizens contribute $5,000 for construction of the courthouse, but refused to pay until construction reached the second story, ensuring that the courthouse would actually be built as promised by county officials. The contributors also insisted that the total cost of the courthouse be at least $25,000 to ensure the structure would be a well-built landmark for the community.
The courthouse was designed by Calvin R. Thornton, an architect from
La Grande, Oregon
La Grande is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Located in the Grande Ronde Valley, the city's name comes ...
. The construction contract was won by S. R. Haworth for $31,300. Haworth began work on the building in January 1909. The plumbing and heating work was done under a separate sub-contractor, costing an additional $4,592. Thornton moved to Enterprise to supervise to the courthouse construction. However, he was killed in December 1909 when he fell from a
scaffold
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other man-made structures. Scaffolds are widely use ...
at another job site in Enterprise. As a result, he never saw the finished courthouse. In March 1910, a local furniture company was awarded a $3,183 contract to provide furniture, counters, and bar railings to finish the courthouse. The courthouse opened for business on 5 January 1910. However, construction was not actually completed until May of that year.
[ "Historic Wallowa County Courthouse"](_blank)
Wallowa County, ''www.co.wallowa.or.us'', Enterprise, Oregon, 2009.
Over the years, minor modifications have been made to the courthouse building. For example, the original
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
was replaced in 1927. In the 1970s, several window air conditioning units were installed.
Aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
storm door
A storm door is a type of door that is installed in front of an exterior access door to protect it from bad weather and allow ventilation (architecture), ventilation. Storm doors generally have interchangeable glass panels and window screen panel ...
s were added to the front and rear entrances in 1981. This was accomplished without altering the original wooden entry doors. A
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
handicap-accessible ramp was also added to rear entrance in 1981. Other changes made over the years include adding partitions and paneling, installing carpet, lowered ceiling, and added
fluorescent light
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...
s.
Because the Wallowa County courthouse is one of the few early 20th century county government building in eastern Oregon that has retained its original character, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 14 July 2000. Today, the courthouse is still being used for its original purpose.
["The Wallowa County Courthouse"](_blank)
City of Enterprise, ''www.enterpriseoregon.org'', Enterprise Oregon, 29 July 2012.["Wallowa County Courthouse"](_blank)
Oregon Historic Sites Database, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, State of Oregon, Salem, Oregon, 28 July 2012.
Structure
The Wallowa County courthouse is an imposing stone structure, built in center of ''Courthouse Square'' with the main facade facing west. The courthouse was built in the
High Victorian
High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right.
Promo ...
style with massive stone facades on all four sides.
The building has some Queen Anne elements, such as multiple roof forms, segmental windows arches, and patterned shingles.
The courthouse is three stories high including a usable
attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
. The courthouse also has a full
basement
A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...
. It has a rectangular footprint measuring (east–west) by (north–south). The top of the
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
is above ground level.
The perimeter
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
and exterior walls are made of rough-cut Bowlby stone, a type of volcanic
tuff
Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
. The gray-brown stone was locally quarried. The stone walls are true load-bearing walls. There are stone arches above the windows and main entry doors. The arch
keystones and window sills are light gray
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
. The courthouse windows are double-hung, one-over-one style in wooden frames. They are arranged in pairs and symmetrically placed on all sides of the building. Some of the original wooden sashes have been replaced by modern vinyl sashes; however, the frames are still intact. In the 1970s, aluminum
storm window
Storm windows are windows that are mounted outside or inside of the main glass windows of a house. Storm windows exist in North America, but are uncommon in continental Europe, where double, triple or quadruple glazing is prevalent. Storm windows ...
s were mounted over all the windows. Five first floor windows at the southeast corner of the building have steel bars and are covered with woven wire mesh. This is the exterior of the men's
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
. Originally, there were five barred windows on the northeast corner of the building, where the women's jail was located. However, the bars were removed in 1997 when women's cells were removed.
There are concrete steps leading up to the front and rear entrances. A concrete wheelchair ramp was added at the east entrance in 1981. Both the front and rear entrances have double doors recessed under an entry arch. The doors have glazed beveled-glass inset windows. There are clear beveled-glass sidelights flanking the entry doors with floral-patterned glass
transom
Transom may refer to:
* Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar
* Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet
* Operation Tran ...
s above the each entrance.
The basement floor is concrete. The first and second story floors are supported by wood beams with wood sub-floors covered by
fir
Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
floor boards. The load bearing walls on the first and second floors are brick with a plaster finish. Non-load bearing walls and stairs are wood-frame. The
hip-roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
is wood-frame except for the roof over the court room which is supported by two massive
truss
A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure.
In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
es. The trusses carry a pyramid-shaped
coffered ceiling
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...
that is currently hidden by a modern suspended ceiling. The portion of the roof visible from the street is covered with
asbestos
Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...
tiles that are a charcoal gray color. Beyond the visible roof is another lesser pitched hip-roof covered with
asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
roofing. The courthouse has a white decorative
cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
made of sheet-metal running along the perimeter of the building. The building has three brick
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s. One chimney is in the center of the roof. The other two are above the east facade on a gabled roof extension. The courthouse cupola is a wood-framed element with sheet metal detailing that crowns the structure. There is round metal finial on top of the cupola.
Interior
The courthouse has a usable basement, two main floors, and an attic. Originally, there were county offices on all four floors. Today, the courthouse continues to serve its original purpose with offices in the basement, first, and second floors while the attic is now used for storage.
The basement has a main hallway with stone-walls runs north to south. The basement walls are a finished rough stone. The ceilings are low with exposed mechanical systems visible in the hallway and office spaces. A small bathroom is located at the north end of the hall. Until the 1970s, there was a basement apartment for the courthouse custodian, who maintained the building, stoked the boiler, and cooked for prisoners housed in the county jail. The mechanical room houses an abandon steam boiler along with a new boiler that heats the building through the building's original
radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A radiator is always a ...
system. An exterior stairwell entrance was added in the 1960s.
The public entrances to the courthouse are on the first floor. The double doors at the main entrance on the west façade open to a wide hallway that runs the length of the building to double doors at the rear entrance. There is also a north–south hallway that divides the first floor into office quadrants. The hallway ceiling is high. A staircase at each end of the north–south leads to the basement and the second floor. All the interior office doors are original except for the sheriff's office, which has a new steel security door. There are bathrooms at the north and south ends of hall.
The northwest quadrant of the first floor houses the
county clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
's office. The clerk's area includes a main office, a research room, and a vault. The northeast quadrant houses the
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
's office. It includes offices for the sheriff and deputy sheriffs along with a reception area. The northeast corner of the building originally had a women's jail; however, the cells were removed in 1997 and the area was converted into office space. The jail and the
treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury o ...
's office are located in the southeast quadrant. The original cells remain intact, but are only used to temporary hold prisoners who are being booked or who are making a court appearance. The treasurer's office suite includes the treasurer's office and a reception area. The southwest quadrant houses offices for the
Veteran's Administration
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...
and the county
assessor.
The second floor has a single hallway, running north–south. There are offices on the west side of that hall with the county's courtroom and court offices on the east side of the hall. The second floor has a small bathroom at each end of the hall. The offices on the west side of the hall include the county commissioner's offices, county administrative offices, the
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
's offices, a
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
room, and a children services office. On the east side of the hall is a large courtroom. The courtroom has a double-door entrance. There are six windows opposite the entrance. An oak
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
divides the courtroom into two sections, separating the
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, attorneys, and jury from the public seating area. The public area is surrounded by wooden bookshelves. The jury box has 12 oak chairs. The judge's and attorney's desks are made of oak, and are original courthouse furnishings. The courtroom originally had a coffered ceiling, but it has been covered by a modern drop-down ceiling. The court offices consist of three interconnected rooms, a reception office, an administrative office, and the judge's chambers, which is located on the northeast corner of the building.
The stairs to the attic is located at the south end of the second floor hall. The stairway was originally open, but a door was installed in 1981 to control access. The attic was originally used for office space. However, the offices were closed in the 1970s because fire exits were inadequate. The attic is now only used for storage. The attic area above the courtroom houses a massive truss system that supports the courtroom's original coffered ceiling. The attic's dormers and windows were built to for their exterior effect, not for interior lighting.
Courthouse Square
![Wallowa County Courthouse in Enterprise Oregon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Wallowa_County_Courthouse_in_Enterprise_Oregon.jpg)
The Wallowa County courthouse is located at 101 South River Street in Enterprise, Oregon. The courthouse is surrounded by Courthouse Square which encompasses one city block, approximately . The courthouse faces west toward South River Street with East Main Street bordering the north side of Courthouse Square. First Street runs parallel to the rear to the courthouse building to the east of the site, and East Greenwood Street borders the south side of the square.
Originally, the courthouse was surrounded by
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
trees, but they were replaced in 1925 with
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
trees. The spruce trees were removed in 1989 after several were damaged during a storm. The spruce trees were replaced by
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,
maple
''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
,
linden,
juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
, and
flowering crab apple trees. There are
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s planted on the north, west, and south sides of the courthouse. There is a wood-framed
gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands.
Etymology
The etymology given by Oxford Dictionaries (website), Oxford D ...
in the northeast corner of Courthouse Square. The gazebo was built in 1986 by the Rotary Club of Wallowa County. It stands on the same location as a gazebo built about 1900. The date the original gazebo was removed is unknown. However, it can be seen in photographs that were taken shortly after the courthouse was built.
There are a number of memorials around Courthouse Square. On the northwest corner of the square stands a concrete arch that is dedicated to the early pioneers of Wallowa County, who arrived in the 1870s. The local
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
post placed the granite boulder in front of the courthouse in 1925. The
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pla ...
mounted on the boulder bears the names of Wallowa County men killed in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In 1985, two more plaques were added to honor those killed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, and the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. A World War I field gun was placed in the square in 1926. However, the gun was melted down during a World War II scrap drive to support the war effort. It was replaced in 1947 with a World War II
Howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
that honors American veterans.
A ''Fountain of Honor'' honoring all veterans of the
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
was dedicated on 9 July 2011.
[Addison, Brian]
"Eagle lands at Fountain of Honor"
''Wallowa County Chieftain'', Enterprise, Oregon, 7 July 2011.
See also
*
References
External links
Wallowa County, Oregon – Historic Wallowa County CourthouseCity of Enterprise – The Wallowa County Courthouse
{{National Register of Historic Places Oregon
Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
Buildings and structures in Enterprise, Oregon
Government buildings completed in 1909
Romanesque architecture
National Register of Historic Places in Wallowa County, Oregon
1910 establishments in Oregon