Before the glacial unit compounded enough to form the moraines that currently surround the lake, a large alluvial fan was present in the valley.

Conflict with miners and other trespassers resulted in new treaty negotiations in 1863, in which American agents aimed to shrink the reservation and exclude the Wallowa county from its boundaries.

Today many monuments and dedications are set up at the lake and its surrounding cities in remembrance of the Nez Perce tribe and the battle that took place.

Due to the needs of the crowds of gold miners who were flocking to the area, the store was a success and the town of Joseph began to grow.

[11] Wallowa Lake gained popularity among gold miners and soon began attracting guests from other areas.

The park contained a restaurant, store, bowling alley, dance hall, outdoor movie theater, horse drawn carousel and cabins for those wishing to stay overnight.

Several more stores, lodges, restaurants, and rental cabins were built in the following years, turning the south end of the lake into a tourist community.

The businesses at the south end of Wallowa Lake are members of a non-profit tourism association.

This association maintains a website, supports tourism in the area and works to solve issues across the lake community.

There are 2,000 to 3,000 people residing at the south end of Wallowa Lake in summer with all businesses open.

However, from October through March there are less than 40 year-round residences at the south end of the lake, which is designated as a CDP by the U.S. Census Bureau, and only a few lodging businesses remain open.

It is owned and operated by a non-profit of local irrigation consumers, Associated Ditch Companies of Joseph.

[14] In 1996, the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Oregon Water Resources Department identified deficiencies in the safety of the aging "high hazard" structure.

In 2006, state and federal money was appropriated for rehabilitation and a reconstruction which may allow a migrating fish passage, specifically for re-introduced coho and sockeye salmon.

In June 1992, a malfunction occurred in the operating system of the Tram and all passengers had to be evacuated by helicopter.