Early Spokane

Spokan Falls, known as the Capital of the Inland Empire, was named after the Spokan Indians and the picturesque falls. In 1891, the name was changed to Spokane. The town thrived as a result of the abundant waters of the Spokane River, which powered saw and grain mills, and lured major transcontinental railways to Spokane in 1881. In 1889, a fire destroyed the downtown area, but like a forest after a fire, the town enjoyed growth and resurgence soon after. Spokane would attract people as diverse as Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, Billy Sunday, and Charles Lindbergh. Easterners found that its four seasons and profusion of scenic city parks gave them a place to ensure their destiny.

Author Don Popejoy is the sheriff of the Westerner's Spokane Corral and teaches Pacific Northwest history, Lewis and Clark history, American history, and geology for Spokane Community College. He majored in U.S. history and Pacific Northwest history at Whitman College and Eastern Washington University. Author Penny Hutten has written Images of America: Forestville and is the winner of the Editor's Award for Historic Scholarship from the Sonoma County Historical Society. She is currently program deputy for the Westerner's Spokane Corral.