Oroville in Okanogan County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

The Hee-Hee Stone Legend

Photographed by Mark Teshera, June 22, 2024

1. The Hee-Hee Stone Legend Marker

Inscription. An Indian princess on falling in love with a captured brave was permitted to marry and return with him to his people on the promise that she would not look back. Happy and gay and forgetting her promise, she laughingly looked back and was turned to stone. Thus the upright Hee-Hee laughing stone. Passing Indians made wishes and hung gifts of trinkets and garments on the stone never once did the Hee-Hee Stone fail them. During a plague an angel appeared over Bonaparte from the southern skies and alighted on the Hee-Hee Stone, healing the sick. The Hee-Hee Stone was an Indian belief and still is. Supposedly by white prospectors under the influence of liquor, it was dynamited to pieces the night after Labor Day, 1905.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 1905.

Location. 48° 55.571′ N, 119° 9.301′ W. Marker is in Oroville, Washington, in Okanogan County. It is on Chesaw Road (County Road 9480) east of Havillah, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Oroville WA 98844, United

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States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Washington’s Okanogan Highlands.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Cascade Range,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 16 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Old Molson (approx. 4 miles away); The Molson School (approx. 4.2 miles away); The Story of Molson (approx. 4.2 miles away); Chesaw (approx. 4.9 miles away); Chesaw 4th of July Rodeo (approx. 4.9 miles away); Circle City (approx. 6.7 miles away); Sidley B.C. 1895-1912 (approx. 6.9 miles away); Wauconda Community Hall (approx. 15.2 miles away).

The Hee-Hee Stone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Teshera, June 22, 2024

2. The Hee-Hee Stone

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 2017

3. The Hee-Hee Stone Legend Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on April 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 4, 2025, by Mark Teshera of Oroville, Washington. This page has been viewed 328 times since then and 104 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 4, 2025, by Mark Teshera of Oroville, Washington. 3. submitted on April 4, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.