By Paige M. Nash
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. …

By Paige M. Nash
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…

By Paige M. Nash
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.…

By Paige M. Nash
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…

By Nikolai Cherny
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…

By Nikolai Cherny
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…

By Nikolai Cherny
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…

By Nikolai Cherny
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…

By Nikolai Cherny
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…

By Nicolle Southwick
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…

By Nicolle Southwick
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…

By Nicolle Southwick
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…

By Nicolle Southwick
For the first decades of Spokane’s history, its citizens got around on foot or on horse. In a very few places downtown, horse rings can still be found in the granite curbs. Here, on the corner of Main…

By Nicolette Reames
In the late 1800s, the fast-growing city of Spokane attracted immigrants from all over the world, including China and Japan. As in other American cities, a combination of anti-Asian prejudice and…

By Nicolette Reames
Towards the end of the 19th century, the United States government was looking to build a fort in the inland Northwest. In 1895, Spokane residents purchased land in the Twickenham Park area and deeded…

By Nicolette Reames
Spokane has long had a black population, though it started out quite small. Coal mining jobs drew large numbers of African Americans to Washington State in the 1880s, though often when they found…

By Nicolette Reames
Transportation is the key to survival for small towns. Harrington is no different, depending first on horses, then trains, then automobiles to bring in visitors and residents. The many businesses…