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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 112 |
| 1884 | 44 |
156 stories
- Gold Fever at the Doorstep: The Coeur d'Alene Rush
Word of fabulously rich quartz strikes fifty miles east of Spokane Falls has set off a stampede — veterans of '49 are said to be packing up again, and 50,000 men are expected in the mountains next spring, with Spokane Falls positioning itself as the supply depot.
- The Coeur d'Alene Stampede Through Spokane Falls
Every train brings a delegation of prospectors as the Coeur d'Alene mining fever turns Spokane Falls into the gateway to the new diggings — and prices at the mines run to $70 a barrel of flour.
- The Railroad Raises Its Rates, and the Northwest Howls
Spokane Falls merchants protest a Northern Pacific freight hike that makes shipping from Minneapolis cost as much as shipping from New York — and warn the railroad it is strangling its own territory.
- He Walked to the Doctor With His Arm Hanging by a Thread
A Pend d'Oreille man struck by a Northern Pacific train near Sand Point was brought to Spokane Falls, where surgeons amputated at the shoulder. He died two days later.
- Caught in the Shaft: A Miller's Close Call at Post's Mill
George Hilbert, assistant miller at Frederick Post's flour mill, was nearly torn apart when his foot was snagged by a spinning iron shaft. Quick action by a coworker saved his life.
- The Gold Rush That Was Coming for the Colville Reservation
A Spokane prospector returns from the northern mineral belt with news of rich rock—and a prediction that the Indians will not long keep their land.
- A Handcar on the Trestle, a Train Around the Curve
Calhoun's crew was sent east of Spokane Falls to stand by a switch for the excursion trains. A belated passenger train rounded a curve onto their handcar; the men jumped, but a Chinese laborer was severely injured.
- The Heartbreak of the China Valley
A young blacksmith’s quiet life in the valley is shattered when his sweetheart, Octavia, leaves for the mills of Lewiston and returns with a husband.
- The Hero of the Jersey Express
A young railroad engineer risks his life to save a passenger train, sparking a community celebration in Spokane.
- A Threshing Machine Tragedy
A farm worker suffers a horrific injury after falling into a threshing machine near Spokane.
- Spokane Prepares to Welcome the Northern Pacific’s Last-Spike Excursion
In September 1883, Spokane Falls planned arches, speeches and a day of civic pageantry to greet President Henry Villard and the railroad party opening the transcontinental line.
- Spokane Dressed for a Railroad King—and Waited Until Midnight
Spokane Falls spent a week building arches and hanging evergreens for Henry Villard's Northern Pacific excursion, but delayed trains turned the grand reception into a series of after-dark whistle-stops—and Ulysses S. Grant drew the crowd that the railroad had promised.
- Spokane Bets $1,000 on a Road to the Coeur d'Alene Mines
A Saturday-night mass meeting in Cannon's Hall puts real money behind a wagon road from Spokane Falls into the mining country — and the boosters are already calling their town 'the Denver of the Northwest.'
- Spokane Falls Demands Its Fair Share of the Territory
With Spokane County left 'out in the cold' without a representative while smaller Walla Walla holds three seats, the Review calls for splitting Washington Territory in two.
- Spokane Falls Finally Gets Water Works
After years of relying on water carriers and wells, the city council grants a franchise to two newcomers to build a water system, promising fire protection and an end to the water famine.
- Spokane Falls Finally Gets a Water Company — and a Fire-Fighting Lifeline
After a winter of promises and a franchise left to gather dust, three investors buy out the original water-works rights and vow to lay pipe before the weather turns.
- Turning Gravel into Gold
Local skeptics are proven wrong as experiments with flax and wheat on Spokane's rocky soil show surprising success.
- The Editor's Pistol: A Deadly Quarrel in Walla Walla
Chas. Besserer, editor of the Walla Walla Watchman, shoots a brewer who threatened him, and is acquitted on grounds of self-defense.
- Washington Wheat Rolls East for the First Time
A landmark Northern Pacific shipment carried Walla Walla wheat through Spokane Falls toward Minneapolis, announcing the railroad's promise to turn Inland Northwest grain into global commerce.
- Spokane Cuts Itself a New County — and Expects the Courthouse
The Territorial legislature carves a new county out of Spokane, placing Spokane Falls near its center. The town is 'exceedingly happy,' and already counting on the county seat, the land office, and the records that come with them.
- A Joint-Stock Stage Line to Beat the Railroad to the Mines
Spokane businessmen subscribe a $20,000 company to run daily stages and freight to Eagle City, betting the gold rush will make their town the gateway to the Coeur d'Alenes.
- The Union Block Collapse: A Mason's Fall Through a Defective Staging
A plank gave way during construction at Union Block, sending one mason into the cellar with a broken collarbone and a second man tumbling to the ground floor.
- The Train They Hoped Would Stop: Spokane's Bid for the Last-Spike Spotlight
A mass meeting at Cannon's Hall appointed a committee to welcome President Villard's Northern Pacific excursion and make sure the editorial train lingered long enough to see the falls.
- The Six-Story Mill Built on a Rock in the Spokane River
In 1883, S. G. Havermale and B. F. Davis began raising a flour mill and elevator on Little Island, betting that water power and wheat would make Spokane Falls a grain capital.
- A Boulder on the Track Nearly Sends a Passenger Train Down the Hill
A westbound train strikes a fallen boulder near the Hangman Creek bridge, throwing its engine trucks off the track within feet of a steep drop. A nearby pay-car locomotive pulls the disabled engine free.