On November 29, 2006 the City of Spokane celebrated its 125th Birthday. Its yesterdays are punctuated by pivotal episodes and dynamic leaders. Spokane has endured fires that destroyed its downtown, numerous wars, and struggles with its economies, but the spirit of its people has endured and continues to strive to make this an even better place in which to live.
The following historic time line is based on information gathered from The Spokesman-Review newspaper archives and, for the years 1900-1999, draws extensively on a timeline compiled by Kyp Graber and published in The Spokesman-Review on March 28, 1999. The original material has been edited to provide focus on the city of Spokane and condensed for space considerations. New material was developed by the publications group of The Spokesman-Review Marketing Services Department. No timeline can include all significant information in a city’s history. This one aims to be accurate but not comprehensive.
Pre-Contact
For centuries before the first white explorers and traders visited the location of today’s Spokane, Native Americans had recognized the site’s natural advantages of a verdant land, blessed with an abundance of water, fish and game. The city shares it name with that of the native Spokane people. The name Spokane means "children of the sun."
1811
Birth of Spokane Garry (precise date unknown). Following formal education in Canada from about 1825-1830, he returned to Spokane and conducted the first school in the Northwest near the modern intersection of Maple Street and Euclid Avenue.
1853
Creation of Washington Territory
1873
James N. Glover arrives in Spokane and buys 158 acres in what today is downtown Spokane.
1874
Henry T. Cowley establishes a school for the children of white settlers in Spokane and leads formation of the region’s first school district.
1877
Frederick Post relocates his flour mill from Post Falls to Spokane, giving teh city its first major business interest.
1879
• Spokane County boundaries are established on October 30. Spokane becomes temporary county seat pending a ratification vote. Prior to 1879, Spokane County was part of Stevens County, with its count seat at Colville.
• City’s first regularly published newspaper, the Spokan Times, is founded by Francis Cook.
1880-1886
Spokane Falls and Cheney battle over which city should be county seat. Initial results from ratification vote of 1880 favor Cheney. The county’s pro-Spokane auditor, James M. Nosler, questioned the validity of votes from several precincts and, upon recount, Cheney lost. In 1881 a group of pro-Cheney advocates entered the courthouse and demanded a recount and certification showing that Cheney ahs won. Territorial courts also upheld Cheney as county seat, which it remained until 1886 when a new election resulted in an unquestioned vote in favor of Spokane.
1881
• First train, containing six cars, arrives in Spokane from the west.
• The Spokane Chronicle founded. It beomes an evening daily in 1886 and is published for more than a cetury before being merged into today’s The Spokesman-Review.
1883
May 1 – The Review newspaper established by Frank Dallam.
1886
Architect Kirkland Cutter moves to Spokane.
1887
Edison Electric Company construct first electrical power-generating station in Spokane. The building, now owned by Avista, still stands near City Hall.
1889
• August 4 – The Great Fire destroys more than 75 acres of the city.
• Washington Territory becomes the 42nd state admitted to the union.
1890
March 9 – The Spokesman newspaper founded by H. T. Brown and Joseph French Johnson. In May, a group of investors that includes W.H. Cowles, who eventually bought out his colleagues, later acquired the Review and, in 1894, created The Spokesman-Review.
1891
Construction of Review Tower (architect, Chauncey Seaton) in downtown Spokane.
1892
• Death of Spokane Garry.
• Arrival of the Great Northern Railway and construction of the GN rail yards in Hillyard.
1893
Natatorium Park opens.
1894
Spokane City Library officially established.
1895
The Spokane County Courthouse – unusual for its French Renaissance design by architect Willis A. Richey – opens.
1897
Spokane Humane Society founded.
1898
• City schools complete a major building program, adding three new schools and expanding two existing ones.
• Spokane Chamber of Commerce permanently established.
1899
Fort Wright officially opens as a military post. Construction of most buildings was completed by 1906. Military operations ceased in 1957.
1900
• Jan. 9 – Spokane’s street committee votes to pave all downtown streets in brick, as asphalt is more expensive and often of poor quality.
• Nov. 28 – With a population of 36,848, Spokane County is second largest in the state. Census numbers show Whitman as the fourth largest county with 25,360 people. The entire state population is 518,103. Idaho population is 161,772. Five cities, including Moscow and Wallace, have over 2,000 population. Montana’s population is 243,329. Butte, with 47,685 residents, is the largest city.
1902
• Jan. 2 – Spokane’s first rural mail routes begin today.
• March 23 – Railroad officials confirm nearly 5,000 homeseekers stepped off trains in Spokane today. Most are of European descent.
• Sept. 4 – Spokane Mayor Byrne declares war on the city’s 86 cash slot machines.
• Oct. 20 – The Coeur d’Alene & Spokane Railway Company will build an electric train route between the two cities.
• Dec. 4 – Spokane city councilmen hope to clear the streets of bloated booze hags.
1903
• Jan. 14 – An epidemic of typhoid fever breaks out in Ross Park.
• April 3 – Millionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie has pledged $75,000 for a public library.
• May 26 – Theodore Roosevelt, the first president to visit Spokane, pronounces it a "bully" place.
• July 26 – Spokane leads the Northwest in car ownership. These runabouts cost between $700 and $3,000.
• Oct. 15 – Records show Spokane has seven millionaires. Mining man D.C. Corbin is thought to be the richest, worth nearly $2 million. Nearly 20 Spokanites are said to be worth more than $300,000.
1904
Sept. 22 – Nez Perce Indian Chief Joseph dies.
1905
Aug. 24 – The $100,000 Masonic Temple on Riverside Street opens today to much fanfare.
1906
Oct. 16 – An elaborate 11-story office structure is being planned by August Paulsen. The tower will boast 250 offices and cost $500,000 to construct.
1907
• Feb. 14 – With nearly 1,000 new residents each month, Spokane’s city directory is bursting at the seams. The directory is now 1,115 pages as city population soars to 96,000.
• March 10 – Residential lots in the Northwest Boulevard Addition of Spokane are selling for $250 to $500.
1908
• Jan. 1 – Local business leaders say 1907 was a banner year for Inland Empire industry. Farm products lead the way with a value of $51 million. After that, leading industries are flour and lumber milling, mining and construction industries.
• Aug. 7 – Frederick Post, who built and operated the first flour mill in Spokane and founded Post Falls, dies in Post Falls at age 87.
• September – The Western Architect, a leading trade journal, pronounces Spokane "the best built modern city on the continent" and marvels at beauty of local mansions.
1909
May 11 – The Spokane City Council appropriated $1,000 to fight scarlet fever.
1910
June 20 – Fire destroys South Side High School at Fourth and Howard. Newly constructed North Central High accommodates double-shifts until Lewis and Clark High School can be completed.
1911
• Feb. 1 – Women registering to vote in the coming county election equal the number of men seeking franchise. Although many have protested telling their age, only M. Reynolds has forsaken her voting privileges over the issue.
• Oct. 13 – Over 1,500 people are awed by the dedication of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in north Spokane.
1912
April 2 – A concert is held to dedicate the newly constructed Lewis and Clark High School.
1913
Sept. 15-21 – First National Indian Congress is held in conjunction with The Interstate Fair.
1919
Sept. 12 – Well-wishers line 23 blocks of Spokane streets to welcome President Woodrow Wilson. His speech on international relations is well received by 4,100 standing-room-only crowd at the Armory. He is in Spokane two hours.
1923
June 3 – The first commercial flight from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle lands in Spokane.
1926
Nov. 2 – Spokane entertains royalty for the first time when Queen Marie of Romania visits with her children,
Prince Nicholas and Princess Ileana. Thousands throng to The Davenport Hotel for a reception.
1929
• Jan. 4 – Local police say Spokane motorists are either colorblind or cannot read the word "stop." More than a third of all accidents in the city are caused by drivers ignoring stop signs.
• Oct. 25 – The Spokesman-Review headline reads, "Panic and Bedlam Rule as Stock Market Crashes."
1930
May 3 – Daily air passenger service between Spokane and Seattle begins today. Fliers will make the flight from Felts Field in a tri-motored Ford plane.
1932
Jan. 2 – Locals are enamored by Spokane boy and rising star Bing Crosby, the hottest voice on the airwaves. Crosby’s mother, H.L. Crosby of 508 E. Sharp, still calls him "Harry" despite his popular nickname.
1936
Sept. 1 – The last streetcar in Spokane is put out to pasture. City buses now purr contentedly through town.
1938
Sept. 13 – Marriage licenses in Spokane cost $4.50. There is a discount of $1 if the bride is over age 45.
1941
Dec. 10 – As war breaks out Spokane residents are warned they must be prepared to black out at a moment’s notice. Local manufacturers needing light to conduct business are busily darkening windows so they may continue work.
1942
March 1 – A map on the Chronicle’s front page illustrates areas of the Pacific coast where enemy aliens and all Japanese will be prohibited from living. A fair chunk of Eastern Washington near Yakima and the Tri-Cities is included.
1945
Sept. 14 – A $200,000 all-sports coliseum with seating for 6,000 spectators is announced for downtown Spokane.
1949
July 28 – Kaiser Permanente Metals Corp. completes purchase of two aluminum plants here for $36 million from the federal government.
1951
• Jan. 11 – Spokane firefighters are asking for a pay boost. The men currently make $22.32 per month.
• May 2 – Spokane city officials are considering private-enterprise parking lots in the downtown area. Downtown street parking is a problem, and off-street parking blocks owned by private citizens is favored.
1954
Dec. 3 – The Spokane Coliseum opens, with 50,000 people attending events the first week.
1956
• February – Spokane gets natural gas
via 1,660-mile pipeline from New Mexico.
• June 16 – Construction begins on the 1,713-foot-long Maple Street Toll Bridge.
1957
Oct. 5 – Cold war alarm sweeps the nation and Spokane as Sputnik passes over Spokane at 2:30 a.m. The space race is on.
1958
Jan. 3 – The Orpheum Theater announces it will close its doors after 50 years of plays and films.
1959
Jan. 10 – The first open-heart surgery in Spokane is performed.
1960
Jan. 16 – Cheney Cowles Museum is dedicated.
1961
• March 20 – The Spokane Philharmonic Orchestra folds after 16 seasons. The Spokane Symphony is
immediately organized.
• Aug. 1 – The first scheduled passenger jet from Spokane’s new terminal at Geiger lifts off at 1:45 a.m., bound for Minneapolis and Washington, D.C.
1962
March 1 – Spokane celebrates the 20th anniversary of Fairchild Air Force Base.
1964
• Sept. 1 – Dixon Investment Company of Spokane acquires Northtown site for $5 million. It is the largest real estate transaction in city history.
• Nov. 4 – Spokane upstart attorney Thomas Foley defeats veteran incumbent Walt Horan in the 5th Congressional District’s representative race. Horan held the post 22 years.
1967
Sept. 28 – Spokane’s first skywalk links the Parkade with the Bon Marche.
1973
• July 2 – Washington Mutual Savings Bank and Washington Trust Bank are both erecting skyscrapers in downtown Spokane. Washington Mutual’s building will be 15 stories, while Washington Trust’s sports 16.
• Sept. 4 – The waterfall and bridges are complete at Manito Park’s Japanese Gardens. Landscaping crews from Nishinomiya, Spokane’s sister city, will work on the path and planting until weather shuts down their operation.
1974
• May 4 – Expo ’74 opens.
• May 9 – Daily attendance at Expo ‘74 is well above 20,000 visitors, with nearly 100,000 on opening day. The projection of 4.8 million visitors likely will be shattered, with most visitors being from out of town.
• Nov. 3 – Expo ‘74 is officially closed. Total attendance was 5,187,826.
1976
Dec. 30 – Visitors to Spokane in 1976 were big spenders. Tourism in the city raked in more than $50 million more than during 1974 and the world’s fair. Increased convention spending alone created more than 200 new jobs.
1977
May 1 – From world-class runners to just plain joggers and walkers, 1,198 people finish Spokane’s first Bloomsday race.
1978
May 5 – President Jimmy Carter dedicates Riverfront Park and praises the City Council for reclaiming the downtown area and revitalizing it. More than 50,000 attend the dedication ceremony.
1979
April 2 – Jocelyn Eldridge, 20, is crowned Miss Black America of Spokane. Eldridge is a Whitworth College student.
1980
May 18 – Mount St. Helens erupts, blanketing Eastern Washington in ash and turning day to night on "Ash Sunday." Schools and businesses close Monday in a state of emergency.
1981
• Nov. 2 – Spokane’s first kidney transplant is performed by Dr. Roger Fincher. Diana Poff, 32, received a kidney from her brother, Stanley Johnson, 31.
• Nov. 3 – James Chase is elected Spokane’s first black mayor. He is a longtime city councilman.
1983
Jan. 5 – The Environmental Protection Agency orders a vehicle inspection program in Spokane to reduce carbon monoxide levels.
1985
May 1 – "The Joy of Running," a sculptural work by David Govedare, is unveiled to the public today.
1987
July 15 – Fire rips through the Hangman Hills subdivision southwest of Spokane; 22 homes burn, and hundreds are evacuated.
1988
• June 1 – Sacred Heart Medical Center announces it will build a $14 million heart institute to offer the latest in cardiology and research.
• Oct. 24 – Confirming rampant rumors, Boeing announces it will build a new factory in Airway Heights employing up to 500.
1989
June 1 - House Speaker Jim Wright announces his resignation, putting Rep. Tom Foley in the speaker position and third {second} in line for the presidency.
1990
• Jan. 22 – Riverfront Park’s historic Carrousel gets an $80,000 makeover.
• May 20 – Whitworth College marks its 100th commencement.
• July 2 – Spokane’s first-ever Hoopfest 3-on-3 basketball tournament raises more than $25,000 for local charities. More than 500 teams take part.
1991
Nov. 25 – Deaconess Medical Center unveils its newly finished, $11 million birthing center to rave reviews.
1992
April 12 – Downtown is unusually quiet today as Frederick & Nelson closes its doors. Bankrupt, the retailer began its going-out-of-business sale Feb. 19. The store was formerly the Crescent, a downtown mainstay since the early 1900s.
1993
Oct. 6 – The first wall of the new Veterans Memorial Arena is raised. More than 4,000 yards of concrete will be used in the footings, foundation and retaining wall.
1994
Nov. 8 – Political newcomer George Nethercutt upsets 30-year incumbent Tom Foley, the speaker of the House and third {second} in line for the presidency, for his 5th Congressional District seat. It is the first defeat of a sitting speaker in 134 years. Nethercutt won by 3,900 votes.
1996
Nov. 19 – Ice Storm hits Spokane and the immediate area, leaving thousands without power. Sheets of freezing rain and ice knock down trees, severing power lines throughout the area.
1997
Sept. 4 – The Kalispel Tribe wins federal approval to build a tribal casino near Airway Heights despite the fact the land is not on their reservation near Usk.
1998
April 1 – The federal government approved a $22.65 million loan to clear the way for River Park Square redevelopment.
1999
March 20 – Gonzaga University wins the hearts of America as the Bulldogs basketball team competes in the Elite Eight. Spokane’s Cinderella team was finally beaten by the University of Connecticut 67-62 in the NCAA West Region Final.
2000
Local developers Walt and Karen Worthy acquire and announce plans to restore and operate Spokane’s historic Davenport Hotel. Following $38 million of personal investment, The Davenport reopens to rave reviews in September 2002.
2001
More than 75 shallow earthquakes rattle Spokane, starting May 24, with the strongest quake – a magnitude 4 temblor – recorded on Nov. 11.
2002
Spokane hosts SkateAmerica, a major international figure-skating event.
2003
Gonzaga University, home of one of the nation’s top college basketball programs, breaks ground on a 6,000-seat, $23 million McCarthey arena.
2004
Spokane is named one of 10 All-America Cities in the United States by the National Civic League. The city is honored, in particular, for downtown initiatives, a youth empowerment program, and development of its digital communications infrastructure. The city had been previously honored as an All-America City in 1974.
2005
The Spokane Indians baseball team hosts the 50th anniversary all-star game of the Northwest League of Professional Ball and goes on to win the league championship.
2006
• The professional Arena Football team Spokane Shock, a member of the AF2 league, launches its first season and goes on to win the National AF2 championship.
• Gonzaga basketball player Adam Morrison is named NCAA Division 1 National Scoring Champion for 2006.
• The city celebrates the 125th anniversary of its incorporation with special events on November 25 and the official anniversary date of November 29. Happy Birthday, Spokane!
back to Our History
We plan to compile photos and information on historic monuments that are still standing today throughout the Inland Northwest, so visit often to check on our progress. In addition to providing valuable historic information about the region in general, we hope these glimpses back into history will spark new interest in helping to preserve and maintain the historic resources currently located here.
Have some history you’d like to share with us? Simply email it to Editor@spokane.net, along with your full name and the city you live in. If we post the information, you’ll get credit for it.