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The Hotel Aberdeen: and Carrie Harris
In a time before women had the right to vote, Carrie Harris was financially independent and a successful businesswoman.
Tiffany’s Skate Inn: A Roller Skating Palace for Its Era
It was the place to see and been seen
Mammoth Undertaking for Cheney Students
In the early 1990s, second-graders in Mrs. Sara Jane Aebly’s class at Windsor Elementary School discovered that Washington State did not have an official state fossil. Encouraged by their teacher,…
Was it a Spokane High School Teacher who Solved the Riddle of the Ice Age Floods?
We have learned to think of J. Harlen Bretz as the genius who first realized that many of the geologic features of Eastern Washington were carved by catastrophic flooding. However, there is some…
Kayaker Tyler Bradt Who Paddled over Palouse Falls
An American whitewater kayaker takes the biggest plunge in an attempt to set a world record. Tyler Bradt was born in Stevensville, Montana. Tyler was kayaking class five rapids at the age of 12, and…
Palouse Village
Palouse village, known to the local tribes as Naha’u’umpu’u, or “People of the River,” was one of the oldest sites of the Palus (or Palouse) Indians of the Pacific Northwest. It is located at the…
Creation of Palouse Falls State Park
Palouse Falls State Park, located 18 miles southeast of Washtucna, is a beautiful recreational campground that offers a breathtaking view of the Palouse Falls. The Palouse Falls and the surrounding…
The Bank of Starbuck
The Bank of Starbuck has stood for over 100 years and looks ahead for the next century. When the bank was constructed in 1904, there were no federal protections for depositors. What kept money safe…
An Overlook to Memorialize a Renowned Geologist
The Fryxell Overlook is a wonderful viewpoint to see Palouse Falls and the Palouse River. The gazebo is dedicated to R.H. Fryxell and located a short hike south of the parking lot at Palouse Falls…
History of Starbuck
Starbuck is a small town of only 129 residents located in southeastern Washington near the Snake River. It has a warm climate and mild winters. The Snake River, Tucannon River, and surrounding land…
Who Was Harlen Bretz?
J Harlen Bretz, whose given name was Harley J. Bretz, was born in 1882 in Michigan. The oldest of five children, Bretz had an early interest in astronomy and the natural environment that surrounded…
Bridge With A Past
The cantilever Snake River Bridge has had a few different names over the years because of its past. The Old Columbia River Bridge was originally constructed in 1927 at Vantage. The carbon steel bridge…
Starbuck Cemetery
Cemeteries are more than a place of rest; they are physical records of the history of their communities. Nestled on a green hillside above the Tucannon River, the Starbuck Cemetery tells the story of…
Old Bones Cemetery
The Palouse Indian Village at the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers was home to many generations of Native peoples until the mid-1940s. The river provided the village with ample fish and…
Native Palouse Falls Creation Story
In the modern world, science explains why the world turns and how natural wonders, such as waterfalls, are created and formed. Prior to modern science, however, there were still answers needed to…
Air Raid Preparation: How Spokane Protected Citizens During World War Two
During World War Two the United States took measures to ensure civilian safety, which included the creation of the Office of Civilian Defense. The Spokane Office of Civilian Defense helped protect…
World War II Airshow Catastrophe: Horror Rode the Skies Crashing Down to Earth
For a crowd of 100,000 in the Inland Northwest a war show became a little too real when two airplanes crashed and exploded.
Prisoners of War Camps: Axis POWs in the Inland Northwest
As the Second World War progressed, Americans captured many Axis prisoners--particularly in Europe. What to do with these men?
Spokane's Gold Star Mothers: Some Spokane mothers gave their all to the war effort, and not every son returned
Wilmer Evers died in a Prisoner Of War camp in the Philippines during World War Two. His mother was given a gold star pin to honor the sacrifice her son made for his country.
Spokane’s Red Tail: Spit Fire, Jack D. Holsclaw
Born and raised in Spokane, Jack D. Holsclaw spent World War II flying as a Tuskegee airman.
What Happened to Allan C. Powell: The Lost Powell Son
Alan Campbell Powell flew a dangerous mission over enemy territory in World War II--and never returned
James Wesley Crow: One Mans War
James Wesley Crow was born in Gooding, Idaho enlisted in the Army AirCorps during World War II. After his tour, James retired from the military and became an inventor of a seed separating device and…
The Velox Naval Depot: Spokane’s Naval Supplier--Three Hundred Miles From The Shore.
Washington was an important location for the Navy during World War Two, with both its Pacific ports and its expensive rail network. The Velox Naval Supply Depot was a massive complex, designed to both…
The Magnesite of Chewelah: The backbone of two world wars
The Northwestern Magnesite Company, with its main processing plant just south of Chewelah, Washington and various mines and quarries in Northeastern Washington, helped supply a majority of the…
The Evolution of Sunset Field: How the United States Military Repurposed Spokane’s Airfield
When the United States was pulled into World War Two thousands of American businesses were repurposed to better support the war effort. It was this direct response to an overseas threat that…
Spokane's Whites-Only Sperm Bank: [Tasteless Masturbation Pun Here]
In the 1990s Spokane gained national attention for a whites-only sperm bank. Things did not go as planned, and the spank bank soon tanked.
USO Clubs in Spokane: A Soldiers Home Away From Home
As the Second World War raged on soldiers returning home on leave or based in the states needed recreational centers to destress. Black soldiers did not always feel welcome in USO clubs so separate…
Brown Industries: From Sheet Metal to Airplanes
Brown Metal Works started as a sheet metal production business but during World War 2 the Brown Brothers' passion for aviation led to shifting the companies focus.
Baxter Hospital: Mercy on a Grand Scale
Called the City of Mercy and containing more than 2000 beds this hospital was its own self-contained community.
Spokane Army Air Depot: The Birth of Fairchild
What is now Fairchild Airforce Base originated as an Army Air Supply and Repair Depot to service the other airfields around Spokane and in the Pacific Northwest.