Joseph: A beautiful community with Old West roots

With the Wallowa Mountains towering overhead and a Main Street populated by life-sized bronze sculptures, Joseph is one of Oregon’s most popular tourist destinations.

During the past quarter-century Joseph has built a reputation as an arts town, while retaining its Old West heart.

An old-time hardware store where you can still find nails in barrels sits compatibly amid a downtown full of world-class art galleries and gift shops. Its restaurants range from authentic western cafes where ranchers and cowboys mingle with artists over morning cups of coffee to contemporary bistros.

This year a new winery with a Wallowa County label will offer vintages made from pioneer recipes. It joins a distillery with a tasting room for samples of its premium rye vodka and vodka cordials. 

A micro-brewery the second in the county is one of Joseph’s newest eateries. New this year is a shop that makes and sells fine chocolates.

The larger-than-life bronzes of Nez Perce, cowboys and wildlife, as well as a graceful lady in blue, keeps visiting shutterbugs busy.

A can’t-miss summer stop in Joseph is the Wallowa County Museum, housed in the town’s first bank that was also the scene of a famous bank robbery in 1896. It is the repository of county’s history, a place to browse through the past. It includes a room focused on the Nez Perce, who are also represented by a Homeland Project historic photo exhibit and a tribal fisheries field office, both on Main Street.

Joseph annually hosts many of Wallowa Countys largest events, including the oldest and biggest of them all, the Chief Joseph Days rodeo celebration, founded in 1946. Other big draws are the Wallowa Valley Arts Festival, Oregon Mountain Cruise car rally, Bronze Blues and Brews music festival and the Bronze Bike motorcycle rally.

The only motel in the Joseph city limits, Indian Lodge Motel, was built by late actor Walter Brennan, a ranch-owner and frequent visitor in the Joseph area. His descendants still live in the county. There are several top-notch bed-and-breakfasts in town, and many other lodging choices are nearby.

Every Wednesday Evening visitors and locals enjoy an evening of outdoor music in the grassy area of Heritage Plaza on Main Street at the Summer Swing concert series. It is followed by a jam session.

Joseph was named for Chief Joseph at the time its post office was established in 1879 when it was little more than a small store operated by first postmaster Matt Johnson. He was joined by F.D. McCully, who opened a mercantile business and platted lots. Joseph was incorporated in 1887, the same year Wallowa County separated from Union County.

Joseph became a thriving agriculture and logging town with two sawmills (now closed), as well as a popular destination for visitors who love hunting, fishing and the outdoors.

Its setting attracted artists, and a new era started in the early 1980s when the art foundries opened. 

In 1999 Joseph’s Main Street was transformed by an award-winning improvement project that turned downtown into a garden-like setting for monumental bronzes by local artists. For more information about Joseph, visit www.josephoregon.com.

Main Street flower boxes are adopted each year by volunteers, turning downtown into a virtual flower garden, accented with a street full of maples that turn bright red every fall.

While there is sometimes a nostalgic look back to the Joseph of an earlier era, most residents recognize that Josephs future depends on making the most of all its assets.

Joseph is a one-of-a-kind destination that continues to take pride in its past, while enjoying its present life as a vibrant and beautiful community