All Stories: 709
Stories
Sort by:
In Honor of Her Father: The tale of Sonora Smart Dodd, the mother of Father’s Day
"I began thinking of my mother who passed away in 1898 while I was yet a child. My thoughts naturally turned to my father who was left with the responsibility of rearing six children." - Sonora Dodd
Redlinging's Lingering Shadows: Housing discrimination shaped Spokane in ways that are still visible today
The East Central is a primary example of the ways that raciallly restricted housing policies altered a neighborhood.
Ballard Hall: Out of the Ashes, a New Building Rises: Ballard Hall, the mythical Phoenix of Whitworth College.
Ballard Hall is home to about 66 young women, forming part of the historic community with McMillan Hall, known on campus as "BMAC". Ballard is a hall known for its rich history and long standing…
Unveiling History: The Truth AboutThe Battle of Four Lakes Marker
How did Eastern Washington's most inaccurate historical marker come to be?
2011 MLK Parade Bomb Attempt: White Supremacist Brings Terror to Spokane
On a day of celebration and unity, tragedy in Spokane was narrowly averted.
Weapons of War at Fort Spokane
This powder magazine once held the latest weapons of war, along with tons of gunpowder.
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
Officers' Row: Fort Spokane Tour
You are now standing in front of the foundation of what once was an officer's house. The officers and enlisted men of Fort Spokane were divided by a wide social gulf, as evident with the difference in…
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…
The Death of Cromwell Dixon: A Daring Aviator Meets a Tragic End
Having just completed the first-ever flight over the Northern Rockies, 19-year-old Cromwell Dixon took a victory lap at the 1911 Spokane Interstate Fair. It would be his last flight.
Kellogg: Center of Silver Valley: A Town Founded by a Donkey
The small town of Kellogg has a colorful history; from a mining boomtown to environmental cleanup and finally to a popular site for outdoor recreation.
The Training School
Would be teachers needed a place they could practice, and the Training School provided. Due to competition with the Cheney Public School, this sometimes meant dealing with the community's most…
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.
Patterson Hall
In what could be called the latest chapter in the history of the college, Eastern Washington State College was awarded university status because of its expanding programs and became Eastern Washington…
JFK Library
The next couple of decades after World War II were arguably the most rapid period of growth this institution has ever seen. As part of this expansion certain facilities that had previous been in a…
Jore School
Unlike the rest of the campus buildings the schoolhouse you see before you was never intended to be part of a college campus. Instead this building was created to teach the children of another…
Sutton Hall
By the 1922-1923 school year the Cheney State Normal School had undoubtedly achieved success as a teachers training college. At the end of that year the school graduated 1,764 students with teaching…
Senior Hall
The building you are now facing is called Senior Hall. Unlike most of Eastern's facilities, Senior Hall is not named after any particular person. In its original design Senior Hall was very similar…
Monroe Hall
By the middle of the nineteenth century the Cheney State Normal School continued to expand in spite of the disastrous fire. Only a year after Showalter Hall was built it was apparent that the…
Showalter Hall
The building you are now facing is Showalter Hall, the oldest building on campus dating back to EWU's second incarnation as a teachers college. Throughout the history of EWU its development has been…
Deer Lake Irrigated Orchard Company: A testament to the resolve of early Black Spokane
Around the turn of the last century numerous African Americans migrated from the deep South to Spokane in hopes of building a freer and more prosperous life. In which some of them achieved this with…
The Hoyt Smokestack: A Relic From the Blossoming of Spokane’s Flower Industry
“I have faith to believe that we have only just begun to see the development of this wonderful section of the United States and I am proud indeed to have been able to add my mite in bringing about…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Project Hope & William’s Market
The West Central neighborhood was platted in the 1880’s when William Pettet and William Nettleton invested heavily in the area. The neighborhood grew with new homes and businesses and hundreds of…
Batch Bakeshop
Local family owned businesses help create and define neighborhoods and in the early part of Spokane’s history small butcher shops, supply stores and dairies were a familiar sight. Built in 1905 and…
The Chamberlin House: The work of a forgotten Spokane builder.
In the early years of the 20th century, Gilbert Chamberlin and his son Ernest created much of the West Central neighborhood.