The recent auction of the Wallowa Forest Products sawmill outside Wallowa ended an industry that was part of the Wallowa County economy since the 1800s.

Here is an abbreviated timeline reflecting mills that have come and gone through the years, as reported in headlines from the Wallowa County Chieftain.

4-1-1898 LOSTINE/New milling company to be incorporated

7-22-1898 Sawmill to whistle at Leap

7-24-02 FLORA/ Sawmill name changed to Wilsey and Parker

2-14-09 Two new sawmills to start at Lostine

3-4-11 Dozen sawmills market 30 mill bft annually

4-7-11 Big mill, Nibley-Mimnaugh, starts with full crew

6-18-1914 EO Lumber sawmill to be built at Enterprise

3-3-21 EO sawmill payroll now $50,000

10-6-21 EO mill closes for overhauling

7-26-22 East Oregon mill running with full crew again

4-12-23 EO mill seeks to make record, 1,000 railroad cars

5-3-23 Loggers strike (Nibley-Minaugh, Bowman Hicks)

8-9-23 Nibley-Minaugh sells to Bowman-Hicks in Wallowa

1-27-27 Depressed lumber industry to cut wages in county

5-17-28 Receiver takes charge of EO Lumber Co.

10-11-28 EO Logging Co. bankruptcy sale next Wednesday

10-31-41 Murrey sawmill big concern after 1 1/2 years

5-17-45 Murrey mill sells to Mt. Emily Lumber Co.

6-24-43 McKinley mill to be reopened

11-29-45 Mill at Joseph sold to J. Herbert Bate

5-8-47 Wallowa sawmill resumes operation

9-25-47 Troy mill still shut down, financial problems

10-9-47 Mt. Emily starts up new band sawmill

9-26-46 Mt. Joseph Pine Co. purchased from Bill McKinley

11-6-47 Mt. Joseph Pine sold to Ponderosa Pine of Elgin

2-26-48 Bates opens retail lumber yard at Wallowa

6-24-48 Eight local sawmills report timber figures

7-15-48 Construction of new mill at Joseph underway

6-16-49 Ponderosa Pine’s Joseph Mill destroyed by fire

6-23-49 J. Herbert Bate mill payroll in Wallowa county’s largest

8-11-49 Troy mill adds second shift

4-11-50 Mt. Emily mill adds second shift

5-1-52 Bates Lumber Co. buys Troy mill

11-5-53 J. Herbert Bates planer destroyed by fire

11-18-53 Mt. Emily to shut down Enterprise mill

2-3-55 Mt. Emily Lumber Co., sells to Valsetz co. of Portlnd

4-7-55 New Chief Joseph Sawmill started near Joseph airport

6-8-62 Bates mill workers vote to strike

9-13-62 Little or no progress between union, mill

12-5-63 Boise Cascade to end planer ops at Joseph

6-25-64 Bates Mill sold to liquidators

9-3-64 Bates Mill lots to be sold at auction

11-11-65 Ch. Joseph Lumber Co. to expand mill

11-15-73 Boise Cascade to modernze mills in 2-county area

3-28-74 New $250,000 resaw installed at Boise Cascade

6-6-74 New Rogge mill to be built near Wallowa

8-29-74 Joseph Boise Cascade to add third shift

5-1-75 Picnic held to celebrate opening of Rogge mill

5-26-77 Hurricane Ck. Lumber mill being constructed

9-14-78 Hurricane Ck. mill sold to Hitchcock family

5-24-79 Boise Cascade mill at Joseph to drop one shift

6-21-79 Joseph mill (W L Forest Industries) modernizing

5-2-85 WL Forest Industry, Joseph, announces closure

8-22-85 Mill at Joseph to reopen as Sequoia Forest Products

8-14-86 Rogge workers strike over $2/hour pay cut

8-21-86 Rogge workers accept $2 pay cut

9-3-87 Prices push lumber production to 27-yr. high

7-28-88 Fire destroys Joseph Forest Products planer

12-7-89 Pellet mill begins operation

2-25-93 Pellet mill in Enterprise closes

3-4-93 Log shortage curtails Rogge operation

1-14-93 Mills bemoan timber crisis

3-17-94 Report predicts mill closures

3-17-94 Boise Cascade announces decision to close

10-1-94 RY mill at Joseph closes

1-12-95 Thebault-Krieger to reopen RY as Joseph Timber Co.

6-1-95 Closure of Rogge mill in Wallowa announced

9-7-95 Rogge mill auction canceled

11-2-95 D.R. Johnson dickering in Wallowa mill purchase

12-21-95 Wallowa mill to reopen

5-23-96 Wallowa mill resumes up again; 30 workers back on job

12-5-96 Sixty now employed at Wallowa Forest Products

2-24-2000 Joseph Timber invests in small log equipment

6-2-2000 Wallowa mill closes, down to planer help by Friday

5-31-2001 Wallowa sawmill to reopen June 11

6-22-01 Hard times for timber industry, spring market slump

6-29-2000 Joseph Timber Co. eliminating swing shift, 30 jobs

11-5-00 Joseph sawmill to curtail operations until March

3-15-2001 Joseph Timber, Wallowa Resources become partners

1-24-02 Joseph Timber mill to close in February

2-21-02 Joseph Timber sawmill to close this week

4-25-02 Wallowa Forest Products adds partial night shift

8-8-02 Train runs again, Wallowa mill to ship lumber by rail

4-17-03 County’s only sawmill in Wallowa lays off 30 workers

5-5-05 Wallowa mill reopens after temporary closure

7-24-07 Wallowa Forest Products closed indefinately

10-30-08 Company still holds hope for Wallowa mill