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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 101 |
| 1884 | 40 |
141 stories
- The Comedian Who Never Came — and the Advance Man Who Took the Town
Spokane Falls announces the coming of comedian Jas. O'Neill, prints the bills, and then learns the actor is tangled in a real-life comedy at Billings — while the advance agent may have pocketed the take.
- The First Pack Train Leaves Spokane for the Mines
Mr. Garrison, a veteran of mineral-district pack trains, launches a weekly saddle and freight service from the Sprague House straight into the Coeur d'Alene country — and the paper urges every prospector to outfit here.
- The Pioneer Who Started With $24 Sells His Liquor House
J. N. Squier, in Spokane Falls since 1879, hands his wholesale liquor business to a San Francisco firm to chase his mining interests — leaving a fortune built from almost nothing.
- Spokane Falls Fights to Be the Gateway to the Coeur d'Alene Mines
The town battles Portland papers and rival railroad stops over the best route to the gold fields, as a new stage road promises to cut the journey to 70 miles.
- Spokane Falls Council Orders Its Main Streets Graded
Aldermen vote to grade Riverside Avenue, Front, Main and Post streets — the first of a summer of public works meant to make the raw town look like a metropolis.
- A Party Boss Overreaches: Barlow Tries to Hand-Pick Washington Territory's Delegates
The territorial Republican chairman moves to appoint delegates to the national convention himself, and the Spokane Falls press calls it unprecedented gall.
- Real Estate Jumps Again — and the Paper Warns the Speculators
Spokane Falls lots take 'another heavy advance' this week, and the editor worries that 'exorbitant prices do more injury than good' to a town that needs builders, not gamblers.
- Robbed at the Depot: A Warning to Night Prowlers
A Chinese laborer for E. H. Bennett is set upon by two men near the railroad crossing and relieved of his wages — and the paper warns the robbers to be out at night no more.
- Spokane Falls Catches the 'Building Fever'
Every block in town is adding a structure, and Frank R. Moore's new brick block on Howard Street signals that the city's old capitalists believe in its future.
- The YMCA Convention Soda Fiasco
A local boy recounts how a house full of visiting YMCA delegates led to a domestic misunderstanding involving a broken pitcher, potted plants, and a very confused father.
- The Perils of Courting in a Buggy
A livery stable customer recounts a disastrous date involving a runaway horse, a kiss, and a very narrow escape.
- 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.
- The Great Fish Heist of Squier's Vault
A local merchant's appetite for mountain trout leads to a humiliating prank by his associates.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.'
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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—.'
- A Welcome Storm Saves the Harvest
After weeks of drought threatening the region's crops, a heavy storm brings relief to local farmers.
- A Locked Door, a Dead Wife, and Three Doctors' Verdict
Spokane's rumor mill churns after a restaurateur finds his young wife dead on the floor of their locked room—until a physician's panel rules out foul play.
- Spokane Falls Picks Its Men: A Packed Convention Names Glover and Hyde
In a crowded hall on a spring evening, the town's leading citizens nominated a full slate for the coming election — and the paper was happy to tell you exactly why each man deserved your vote.
- The Ladies Stayed Home: Spokane Falls Votes Without Much Fuss
A quiet April election returns the straight citizens' ticket, with one lively independent fight in the Second Ward and a notable absence at the polls.