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Photograph of Old Chief Joseph Gravesite
Photograph by NPS, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Nez Perce Traditional Site, Wallowa Lake

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

From the record

“The Old Chief Joseph Gravesite, also known as Nez Perce Traditional Site, Wallowa Lake, Chief Joseph Cemetery and Joseph National Indian Cemetery is a Native American cemetery near Joseph, Oregon. The area was also a traditional campsite of the Nez Perce and may be archaeologically significant.”

Wikipedia article Old Chief Joseph Gravesite, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 22 National Register listings published here for Wallowa County · listed in 1989 · category: Site · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • Address. SR 82 S of Joseph, Joseph, 97846
  • When was it listed? May 1989
  • Category. site
  • Census division. Joseph
  • National Register reference number. 89001082 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

53 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 53 fires within 5 miles of Nez Perce Traditional Site, Wallowa Lake between 1995 and 2020, burning about 2,376 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning14
Natural13
Recreation and ceremony11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
Other causes1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Arson/incendiarism1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreWallowa UnitTHISTLEHEAD
3 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use6.3 acresOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersAIRPORT
25 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresWallowa UnitJOSPEH
14 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersLEWIS
11 September 1997Naturalunder an acreWallowa UnitHURRICANE SWITCHBACK
5 August 2009Natural1.0 acresWallowa-Whitman National ForestDRAGON
5 August 2007Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWallowa-Whitman National ForestHURRICANE CRK CMPFIR
3 August 2005Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWallowa UnitHERSHEY

Every fire recorded in Wallowa County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 31 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 31 workings within 5 miles of Nez Perce Traditional Site, Wallowa Lake: 12 occurrences, 12 prospects, 6 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Copper, Stone, Copper, Molybdenum, Silver, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Falls Creek Forest CampGold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, SilverOccurrenceGalena, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Good Enough ProspectLead, Silver, Zinc, Gold, CopperOccurrence1909
Hard Climb ProspectZinc, Copper, Silver, Gold, LeadOccurrenceGalena, Sphalerite
Hard Climb ProspectCopper, Gold, Lead, Zinc, SilverProspect
Joseph Mountain MineLead, Silver, Gold, Copper, Molybdenum, ZincOccurrenceVein
Joseph Mountain MinesCopper, Silver, Molybdenum, Zinc, Lead, GoldProspect
Old Time ProspectGold, Silver, CopperProspect
Old Timer ProspectGold, Silver, CopperOccurrenceVein
Old Timer ProspectSilver, GoldOccurrence
Saddle ProspectCopper, Lead, Silver, ZincOccurrenceMalachite

Every working recorded in Wallowa County

Storms near this property

16 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Joseph, the town this property stands in, in 16 storm reports between 2000 and 2024: 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2002Flash FloodJoseph$1,000,000The Wallowa County Sheriff's Office confirmed a mudslide near the Blue Mountain Council Boy Scout Camp at the south end of Wallowa Lake. The mudslide destroyed a dining hall near the boy scout camp. The debri flow in the lake was several feet thick. The mudslide swept away several trees and damaged three vehicles in its path.
April 2024HailJoseph-A thunderstorm developed over the Wallowa Mountains late in the afternoon of April 14, moving northwest into more populated areas of the Wallowa Valley, such as Joseph and Lostine.
May 2020HailJoseph-Nickle to quarter size hail covering the ground in Joseph.
October 2016Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Trained Spotter Estimated a 70 MPH wind gust.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Thunderstorm downed four large trees at the Scout Camp south of Wallowa Lake.
August 2003WildfireJoseph-The Lightning Complex Fire was a lightning sparked fire which burned 16,028 acres, destroying one structure. The fire burned shrubs, grass, and timber. The cost of fighting the fire topped 1.1 million dollars.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Numerous trees reported down countywide.
June 2001HailJoseph-One inch hail, along with gusty winds, was reported at an elevation of 4200 feet.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindJoseph-no account filed
June 2010HailJoseph-no account filed
June 2010HailJoseph-no account filed
May 2008Funnel CloudJoseph-no account filed
May 2008Funnel CloudJoseph-no account filed
June 2004Flash FloodJoseph-no account filed
June 2004Flash FloodJoseph-no account filed
August 2000LightningJoseph-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wallowa County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
First Bank of Joseph1.1 miles1978
Dr. J. W. Barnard Building and First National Bank of Joseph1.1 miles1991
William P. Warnock House6.3 miles1984
William P. Warnock House (Boundary Increase)6.3 miles2011
Wallowa County Courthouse6.7 miles2000
O.K. Theatre6.7 miles2012

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 89001082 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Wallowa CountyAll 22 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.