Being the first of its kind in a small and rural town in Eastern Washington, the Cheney Electric Light works and Leifer Apartments was a sign of advancement and prosperity. The building itself was three stories and was built at a cost of $15,000,…

Before asphalt roads and automobiles, local travel was very different than today. Light rail, often electrified interurban lines, connected many of the cities and towns of the Inland Northwest. The Interurban Depot in Cheney was constructed in…

Amicitia, amor et veritas. Friendship, love, and truth were the three founding principles of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). After its founding in 1842 in Baltimore, Maryland, the fraternal order grew rapidly across the United States…

It was a long way from West Point to the remote frontier post of Ft. Spokane. John McAdams Webster, from Warrenton, Ohio, began his military career by joining the 197th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in 1865. Though he was only 16 years old, Webster was…

Like most Army posts on the western frontier, Fort Spokane relied on native scouts. Indian scouts interpreted, guided soldiers through the wilderness of eastern Washington, and brought back vital intelligence to the Army. At Fort Spokane, being…

On March 26, 1821 two giant companies merged. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), founded on May 2, 1670, bought out its largest upstart rival in the fur trading business, the North West Company. This merger had lasting effects on the fur trade in the…