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911 stories

  1. A Rough Welcome to Spokane Falls

    A pioneer photographer's arrival in the city ends in a painful accident after his wagon hits an excavation.

    Jul 21, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · Disasters

  2. The Great Fish Heist of Squier's Vault

    A local merchant's appetite for mountain trout leads to a humiliating prank by his associates.

    Jul 21, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyStrange But True

  3. A Spokane Craftsman's Twelve-Year Masterpiece in Human Hair

    Charles Streib spent over a decade creating portraits of Generals Washington and Sherman from thousands of strands of human hair—a feat of patience and artistry that astonished the city.

    Jul 28, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyLocal Legends

  4. Spokane Bet Its Future on a Railroad That Hadn't Arrived

    A local correspondent complains that roundabout freight makes staple goods cost eight times Milwaukee prices—and predicts the coming Northern Pacific will turn Spokane Falls into a manufacturing power.

    Aug 4, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  5. Spokane Falls Wins the Land Office—and Sprague Howls

    A Sprague paper accused Spokane Falls of backroom land speculation to land the federal Land Office. The Review answered with boosterish fury and a warning to the 'upper country.'

    Aug 11, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

  6. Spokane Falls Council Tackles Charter, Cash, and a Dead Horse

    In August 1883, the Spokane Falls City Council met to discuss a new city charter, unpaid bills, street assessments, and the problem of a dead horse. The meeting offers a glimpse into the challenges of a growing frontier town.

    Aug 11, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

  7. The Correspondent Called Spokane Poor and Dull. The Local Paper Fired Back.

    In 1883, a traveling writer dismissed Spokane Falls as a speculative boomtown with no real hinterland. The local press answered point by point, defending the mills, the grain trade and the city's future.

    Sep 29, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  8. Spokane Falls Fires Back at the Boom-Sayers

    A Walla Walla society paper printed a traveler's claim that Spokane Falls was a real-estate humbug at its zenith. The Falls' editor answered with population figures, water power, and an invitation to tour the new bridge.

    Oct 13, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  9. The Great Clothing Fiasco

    A group of citizens in Cheney ordered clothing from a traveling salesman, only to find the garments were comically undersized.

    Jun 2, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewCheney, Spokane CountyStrange But True

  10. Browne's Block: A New Brick Landmark Rises at Post and Riverside

    A detailed tour of Spokane Falls' most ambitious new commercial building, nearly complete and set to open December 1.

    Nov 3, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · Gone Forever

  11. A Kangaroo Court on the Big Bend Road

    A Spokane Falls correspondent sketches a makeshift courtroom in a back-room card den, where a nervous judge, two accused whiskey-sellers and a bewildered Indian witness try to settle the law over a can of 'wh—.'

    Dec 8, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

  12. A Welcome Storm Saves the Harvest

    After weeks of drought threatening the region's crops, a heavy storm brings relief to local farmers.

    Jun 16, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  13. A Jailbreak in the County Seat

    Three prisoners escaped the county jail by cutting through a door and scaling the fence, leaving behind only one inmate who was too portly to fit through the hole.

    Jul 14, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewCheney, Spokane CountyTrue Crime

  14. A Cedar Tree Accident at Eighterle Prairie

    A man suffers a broken leg while clearing timber near Spokane.

    Jul 21, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyDisasters

  15. The Tin-Can Alarm Clock Prank That Sent a Spokane Sleeper Racing Downtown at 1:30 A.M.

    A prominent citizen rigged a string-and-tin-can wake-up call with the night watchman. Local pranksters pulled the string first—and he dressed and ran for a train that wasn't leaving.

    Aug 4, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyStrange But True

  16. A Stage for the Falls: The Push for Spokane's First Great Opera House

    With touring companies expected on the Northern Pacific, local boosters propose a 1,000-seat frame hall—and a joint-stock company to build it for $6,000.

    Aug 4, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  17. A Bridge to Span the Spokane

    Citizens fund a new crossing at Post Street, promising a vital link between the city's shores and a grand view of the falls.

    Aug 11, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust

  18. Drawing the Lines of a New City

    A called council meeting in September 1883 redrew Spokane Falls’s boundaries, split it into four wards, and argued over who would elect the city’s officers.

    Sep 22, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall

  19. A 100-Acre Bet on North Spokane

    An Eastern investor buys a tract north of the river for $12,500 and plans to plat it into lots and build houses—classic Spokane booster speculation.

    Sep 29, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

  20. A Miner's Pockets Full of Gold Nuggets — and a Placer Strike 40 Miles From Town

    A Spokane Falls businessman bound for the Cœur d'Alene mines never got there, but came back with nuggets and gold-crusted quartz from a richer claim far nearer home.

    Oct 20, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

  21. Trail Wars: Spokane Fights for the Road to the Coeur d'Alene Gold

    As prospectors rush the new Coeur d'Alene diggings, Spokane boosters battle a Portland paper over which trail is passable — and who gets to outfit the stampede.

    Dec 1, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

  22. Spokane Merchants Meet to Carve a Wagon Road to the Big Bend

    An enthusiastic crowd in Cannon's Hall backs a road from Spokane Falls to Okanogan, and two men set out through a snowstorm to find the route.

    Dec 29, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

  23. The Doctor Who Wanted Everything

    A Prince Edward Island physician wrote to a Seattle paper requesting a mountain of free market research, leading the editors to publicly shame him for his stinginess.

    Jan 4, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  24. The Deadly Plumbing of American Hotels

    A leading medical journal warns travelers that the sanitary conditions in American and Canadian hotels are putting lives at risk.

    Jan 11, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

  25. Swords at the Wharf: A Case of Mistaken Identity

    A peaceful arrival of Knights of Pythias members at the Seattle dock causes an amusing rumor of Fenian invaders.

    Jan 30, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle waterfront, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

Download all 911 as a spreadsheet (CSV)