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Carriage Stones
Before the advent of the electric trolley in 1889 or Ford’s Model T in 1908, Spokanites got around by foot or by horse and buggy. The height of the carriage era lasted from 1850-1910, a time when…
Helga Estby's Walk Across America
A suffragist marches coast to coast to save the family farm.
Ice Harvesting- local and global
Before the invention of the refrigerator, Americans relied on the iceman. His frequent deliveries were similar to the milkman. He started his route at a local ice-warehouse where he loaded ice blocks…
Chief Skolaskin: Dreamer, Prophet and Political Prisoner
The famous Indian Chief and prophet was once jailed here at Fort Spokane for years without trial.
Helen W. Clark: Early Teacher and Patronizing Friend to the Spokanes: A lone woman and missionary-teacher on the Spokane Reservation
The career of Helen Clark typifies the efforts of the "Friends of the Indians" during this time period. She worked hard to educate and defend the Spokanes, but also to get them to abandon their…
Tuberculosis at Fort Spokane
In the early 1900s, tuberculosis was known as the “great white plague,” and at the turn of the century it killed around 450 Americans every day. An infectious disease of the lungs, tuberculosis…
Coyote Stories: A Salishan Trickster
Salish creation stories
The Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Libary: The Heart of Campus Learning
The Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library is one of the most important buildings on Whitworth University’s campus. It was named after Harriet Cheney Cowles after she passed away in 1938. To honor her…
The Spokane Casket Company
Established in 1896, The Spokane Casket Company was one of the largest and longest surviving of Peaceful Valley businesses. Stephen Smith founded the company (originally on Post Street and called…
The Pietsch House
the Pietsch house, built in 1891 by Franz Pietsch, a German bricklayer, has been one of Peaceful Valley's most adored and unique houses. The house features a unique Italian bricklaying method uncommon…
A Working Man's Neighborhood
Houses like the one you are facing now, are known as Shotgun style houses. They were labeled as such because it is said that one could stand at the front door and fire a shotgun exiting through the…
The Demise of the Shack Dwellers
Known for decades as "Poverty Flats," Peaceful Valley has been home to many unique individuals over the years. Some of the more interesting characters are bonded by their humble residence, the shacks…
The Maple Street Bridge
On July 1, 1958 a crowd of four to five thousand people gathered for the dedication and opening ceremony of the Maple Street Bridge. The $6,000,000 bridge was open for motorists' use, for a toll at…
The Loop: The Path That Connects Whitworth: The Loop, where hammock city lays and the best place to get hit in the head with a Frisbee or catch a virgin pinecone.
Although it is commonly known as “The Loop”, the green space that is considered the centerpiece of Whitworth's campus is in fact rectangular. From an aerial view, it is obvious that this part of…
Washington Water Power
Washington Water Power (WWP), renamed Avista in 1999, is one of few local institutions to trace its history to when Washington was a territory. In early 1889, a group of Spokane businessmen organized…
Monroe Street Bridge
The river that lent its name to Spokane has also been a barrier to the development of the city. No sooner was Spokane established than city fathers looked for places to bridge the raging currents.…
The Salmon Chief
For thousands of years the Spokane River's lower falls have been a fishing spot for several Native American tribes. During annual runs, the salmon were so numerous here that it was difficult to see…
Huntington Park
When asking about the history of Huntington Park many will ask you if you mean the park that opened just this year. Huntington Park has been at the heart of the Spokane River for over thirty years. …
Mayor James Chase: The First Black Mayor of Spokane had a Humble Beginning
Born in 1914 to a working-class African American family in dusty Wharton, Texas, James E. Chase might not have seemed like a future mayor. The youngest of seven, money was right in his family,…
Chasing Civil Liberties: One Woman's Influence on Growing Her Hometown
Eleanor Barrow Chase, from a pioneering African American Spokane family line, helped advance civil rights in the city.
Oliver Hall: The Renamed Hall: Newest residence hall honors important alum.
Oliver Hall is one of the newest additions to the Whitworth campus.. Construction began in the winter of 2008, and the residence hall was opened in the fall of 2009, costing a total of $11.6 million.…
Spokane Stockyards: A reminder of Spokane's agricultural past
From the 1880s to 1999, Spokane was a town of slaughterhouses. The Old Union Stockyards were the last of their kind.
St. Ignatius Hospital: A Haunted Hospital in the Palouse?
Religious orders were vital in establishing hospitals in the West. St. Ignatius Hospital is one the first hospitals built in the Inland Northwest by the Sisters of Charity.
Alexander F. MacLeod House
"Remembering advice: 'Go West , young man, and grow up with the country'. I packed my trunk, my sheepskin included, crossed the great divide and landed in Spangle in 1880." Dr. Alex MacLeod
The John A. Currie House
Built during Spokane's "Age of Elegance", the Currie house is a fine example of the Queen Anne style of architecture.
A Frontier Doctor Rides into Rockford
: Dr. William P. Grubbe Settles Down and Builds a Medical Practice
In 1880, Dr. William P. Grubbe and his companion were attacked by a band of Indians. His friend and his horse killed, Grubbe grabbed the other horse and rode for his life. In Rockford, Washington he…
Hospital of the Sacred Heart: Spokane's First Medical Facility: Sisters of Charity Arrive in 1886 to Begin Construction.
"A visitor in the hospital will see everything in perfect order, the patients cheerful ... and the always kind-faced Sisters ... like angels of mercy."
Spokane's Debate for Fair Housing: The 1968 Debates between Carl Maxey and James S. Black
In 1968, two powerful men squared off in a series of debates that would help to shape Spokane
Deadly Fog: The South Cheney Train Crash of 1916: Cheney Train Crash of 1916
One hundred years ago on a cold foggy February morning, Cheney’s worst railroad accident occurred at this spot. The Northern Pacific’s North Coast Limited passenger train plowed into a Burlington…
Eastern Washington University Senior Hall: Eastern Washington University Senior Hall
During the early years, Eastern Washington University was a normal school, which was the term for a teacher’s college. Most students were women, and by 1919, the administration decided it was time for…