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Spokane Fire Station No. 3: Hoses, Water, and Engines
Spokane boomed in the 1890s. Mining, timber, agriculture, and transportation fueled the growth of the city, from less than twenty thousand in 1890 to thirty-seven thousand ten years later. A growing…
Spokane Fire Station No. 9: Old Nine
In 1908 the first Station No. 9 was constructed on this site to serve Spokane's newest neighborhood, the growing South Hill. No. 9 housed one combination truck and chemical engine, one 3rd class…
Historic Elks Club
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was a prominent organization in Spokane in the late nineteenth century. Their membership rose significantly from only 45 charter members on February 13th,…
Spokane Fire Station No. 2: Spokane's First Firefighters
Spokane's Fire Department began with Station No. 1 and Station No. 2. After forming the Spokane Falls Volunteer Fire Department in 1884, Rescue Hose No. 1, made up of "white-collar men," and Spokane…
Spokane Fire Station No. 4: In the Line of Duty
Constructed in 1899, ten years after the Great Fire of 1889, Station No. 4 was originally located at 1304 West First Avenue. No. 4 has been relocated numerous times, due to efforts to expand the…
Spokane Fire Station No. 5: Firefighters Give Status to Schoolchildren
Built in 1893, Station No. 5 was originally located in the City Hall Annex, on the northeast corner of Howard and Front. Sometime between 1911-1912, it was relocated to the new City Hall at the…
Spokane Fire Station No. 6: A Burning Issue: Diversifying the Spokane Fire Department
Black Spokanites served as firefighters from the frontier periods. However, integrating women into the force would take much longer.
Spokane Fire Station No. 7: Unsung Equine Heroes
Erected in 1904 and opened in January 1905, the first Station No. 7 was located at the northeast corner of First and Magnolia. In efforts to purchase a flag and landscaping trees, a benefit dance was…
Spokane Fire Station No. 8: Firemen Tournaments
Built almost identical to Station No. 7 around 1911, Station No. 8 was located on the northeast corner of Sinto and Cochran. It closed in September of 1933, and was razed by 1936, not to be rebuilt…
Spokane Fire Station No. 10: Lives of Early Spokane Firefighters
Replaced after 48 years of service, No. 10 was a stick cottage-style building constructed in 1904 and located at the northeast corner of Gordon and Division. In widespread attempts to modernize the…
Spokane Fire Station No. 11: Unionizing for the Community
Station No. 11 was another stick cottage-style station for the fire department. It was built in 1910 and located at 2711 S. Grand Avenue. The original station was razed in 1936, with the new station…
Spokane Fire Station No. 12: Blazes of Finger Pointing
Slated to last 100 years, Station No. 12 was erected of brick and mortar in 1912, located at 2307 E. Glass Avenue. No. 12 was the last station built to house horses, and every station since has been…
Spokane Fire Station No. 13: Emergence into 20th Century Firefighting
Station No. 13 was the first station in Spokane to be built specifically for fire trucks, and not horse-drawn equipment. The single-story brick bungalow opened on June 22, 1913 at Wabash and Jefferson…
Spokane Fire Station No. 14: Location Disputes
The location of fire stations always involves political struggle and compromise. As Spokane grew so did the need for expanded fire protection, and neighborhoods competed for new stations in a…
Spokane Fire Station No. 15: Fire, Steel, and Coal
Station No. 15 was originally located at 3009 E. Olympic, serving the small railroad community of Hillyard. The modest structure first served as Hillyard City Hall and the city jail. In 1924, Hillyard…
Spokane Fire Station No. 16: Department Extracurricular Activities
Opening its doors in 1926, No. 16 was one of the two stations to open that year. It was a single story, brick bungalow located at Milton and Northwest Boulevard. An open house was arranged welcoming…
Spokane Fire Station No. 17: Time of War
Though the United States was not yet officially involved in the Second World War until December of 1941, the Spokane Fire Department established Station No. 17, located at Felts Field, for military…
Spokane Fire Station No. 18: Property Wars
Station No. 18 is the newest member to the Spokane Fire Department stations. It was opened in 1970 and located at 37 E. Cozza Drive. Unfortunately, in 1977, the property lines for the station were…
The Death of "Irish Kate"
Among the many famous and infamous residents of this section of the cemetery is Kate Barrett, better known to history as "Irish Kate."
Soon after August 4, 1889, countless sensationalized stories…
Ranger Pulaski and the 1910 Tale of Survival
Though not the only heroic ranger to lead their crews through imminent danger, perhaps no other story captures the bravery of the 1910 firefighters than that of forty year old Ranger Edward C. Pulaski…
"The Big Blowup:" The 1910 Fires and their Aftermath
The summer of 1910 was hot and dry in the northwestern United States. And on August 20-21 the nation would feel the fury and reach of nature's wrath.
Fires on the scale of 1910's were not unheard of…
Spokane's Public Market Place
After the Panic of 1893, Americans sought new ways to save on unnecessary spending. As families continued to grow, so did grocery bills. Spokane realized the success of Seattle's public marketplace…
The Scotford Tennis Bubble: An Airy Solution for Indoor Tennis: Tennis, anyone and anytime?
The Scotford Tennis Bubble is a unique feature on the tree covered campus of Whitworth University in the north Spokane area. This dome structure was established in 2005; concealed within the bubble…
NAACP Protests Birth of a Nation: The Racist 1915 Silent Film Provoked Controversy
Following the 1915 release of DW Griffith’s racist film “Birth of a Nation,” the NAACP mobilized across the country, including Spokane, to protest the film.
Npil'x: "Hazy Area"
This spot, called "hazy area," was for generations one of the prime salmon fishing spots on the upper Columbia.
Npil'x refers to the area on the west side of the mouth of the Sanpoil River and…
Salmon and the Spokane Falls
For thousands of years, American Indians gathered here at the base of Spokane Falls to fish for salmon. In June of each year, giant 60 to 80 pound Chinook would make it to the Spokane River. Though…
Camas on the Plateau
Every spring, many of the meadows of the eastern Washington and northern Idaho are dotted with the blue flowers of the camas plant, cammasia quamash. To the Native peoples of the Columbia Plateau…
Indian Congress
After hundreds of years of American oppression, American Indians gained the right to vote in the land they called home since time immemorial with the passing of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. …
Midnite Mine
In 1954, the long and deadly hand of the Cold War touched the Spokane Reservation. Uranium was found in the remote mountains. To exploit this fuel and bomb-making material the Midnite Mine opened…
The Railroads of Silver Valley
The Union Pacific Freight Depot is a legacy from Idaho's great age of rail.
When precious metals were discovered in Northern Idaho, the region exploded with mining activity. Railroads rushed in to…