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Baseball at Fort Spokane
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"
The Army Years at Fort Spokane: The Army years at Fort Spokane
Soldiers of Fort Spokane acted as a buffer between the Indian reservations and white settlers
Weapons of War at Fort Spokane
This powder magazine once held the latest weapons of war, along with tons of gunpowder.
A Soldier's Life at Fort Spokane
"Company Dismissed"
2011 MLK Parade Bomb Attempt: White Supremacist Brings Terror to Spokane
On a day of celebration and unity, tragedy in Spokane was narrowly averted.
Desertion at Fort Spokane
"Get Me Outta Here"
Sanitarium Incinerator: Killing Germs and Destroying Culture
In 1915 tuberculosis struck the Spokane Indians hard. Four natives died and fifty more were suspected of having the disease. In response to the outbreak, the Indian Service used the site of the former…
The Ceremony of Tears: The rising waters of Lake Roosevelt ended a 10,000-year native tradition
As Kettle Falls, a popular Native American fishing and gathering spot slipped slipped below the surface of Lake Roosevelt, Indians gathered for one final ceremony.
The Fort Spokane Brewery: Beer for the Soldiers
Before the Spanish-American War, soldiers stationed at Fort Spokane relied on one man to lift their spirits; a German brewer who made the Fort his home.
The Fort Spokane Boarding School: Forced Assimilation for Native American Youth
By the late 1800’s, the frontier was gone and the West was dealing with what they called the "Indian problem." One of their solutions was the Indian Boarding School.
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
Bertha Finley Brisbois: Bertha Finley Brisbois Brings Schools to the Reservation
From Boarding School to a University Scholarship
The Late, Great Meyers Falls: The Annexation of Meyers Falls
How Meyers Falls became Kettle Falls.
Buried and Forgotten: St. Paul's Mission Cemetery
Beneath the pine needles that cover this historic cemetery lie generations of native and fur trade families.
The Box: Sweat Box or Sewer?
What do you do with a drunken soldier? Park historians are unsure what this metal-lidded hole in the ground was used for, but some say “the box” was a punishment for soldiers who broke the rules.
Fort Colvile: A Hidden Gem in the Columbia Basin
Two global fur trade companies became one through a forced merger, a deal that would have a lasting effect on the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest.
Indian Scouts at Fort Spokane: A Failed Experiment or Cultural Resistance?
Native American scouts were widely used by the US Army beginning with the Revolutionary War. Indian scouts helped the military navigate through unfamiliar terrain and cultures. These native men,…
A Snapshot in the Life of John McAdams Webster: A Coast to Coast Adventure from West Point to Fort Spokane
Plagued by poor health, John McAdams Webster served in the U.S Army at a time when military conflict was unlikely. But no matter where his career took him, he served with distinction. As a school…
The Gifford Odd Fellows: The Independent Order of the Odd Fellows were not so odd.
An organization that spread across America and the world like a wildfire, The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization that was the first of its kind to include women. The Odd…
Vinegar Flats: The Keller-Lorenz Vinegar Works
The area known as Vinegar Flats has a diverse history and was once home to local tribes, pioneers from the East coast, as well as new immigrants moving into Spokane. As early as 1874 there were small…
Wildlife on the South Hill Bluffs
Like most of the landscape in Eastern Washington, the South Hill Bluffs in Spokane reveal the incredible influence of Lake Missoula’s ice dam that broke apart and surged through the area around 20,000…
Hangman Creek
Hangman Creek is one of the Spokane River’s largest tributaries and is surrounded by lush meadows and farmland. It once provided local tribes with food sources such as trout, salmon and freshwater…
Hangman or Latah Creek?: What’s in a name? The Strange Saga of Hangman Creek
Is the creek in front of you called Hangman or Latah Creek? It depends on who you ask.
Bennett Block
A prominent downtown building's namesake once threatened a Spokane newspaper editor at gunpoint.
The Many Names of Cheney, Washington: What were the many names of Cheney throughout the years?
Both whites and Indians had many names for Cheney, but the opportunity for patronage from a powerful railroad executive finally settled the matter.
Cheney's Telephone Switchboard
Switchboards and the telecommunication revolution in Cheney.
1994 B-52 Crash, Fairchild Air Force Base
The worst week in the history of Fairchild Air Force Base ended in a tragic, fiery explosion.