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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 28 |
| 1884 | 26 |
54 stories matching first
- The Unannounced Arrival of the Bank Examiner
A federal official arrives in Spokane Falls to audit the First National Bank, finding the institution in 'flourishing condition' despite the lack of a reception committee.
- 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.
- A Diphtheria Scare at the Falls
A young woman's battle with a deadly disease prompts a public health warning for Spokane.
- She Met the Intruder With a Six-Shooter and a Rawhide
When a stranger entered J. A. Zangrell's tent and insulted his wife, she did not scream or faint. She grabbed a pistol and a whip and chased him into the street.
- 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 Siege at the Cascades
A veteran recalls the harrowing 1856 skirmish at the Columbia River portage, where soldiers and settlers faced a desperate battle against hostile forces.
- A Silver Strike Empties Cheney
A rich silver ledge discovered near Fairweather, twenty miles from Cheney, sends the whole town scrambling for the hills.
- 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.
- The Hotel That Was 'Out in the Woods' Now Can't Keep Up
Fifteen months after skeptics predicted the Sprague House would fail for being too far from town, its proprietor is adding fifty rooms to meet the rush.
- 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 Fights to Stay the Gateway to the Coeur d'Alene Mines
As rival towns and papers tout their own routes to the gold fields, the Spokane Falls Review insists the Big Meadows road will make this city the permanent key to the mines.
- 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.
- Spokane Falls Organizes to Build Its First Public Library
A handful of citizens meet in Cannon's Hall to launch a free reading room and library — a public institution open to all, funded by subscription, and aimed at the thousands who will make the town their home.
- Spokane's Citizens Buy Themselves a Road to the Gold Fields
In fifteen minutes, local businessmen pledged a quarter of a $20,000 stock company to run stages and freight wagons between Spokane Falls and the Coeur d'Alene mines — before another town could steal the traffic.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Price of a Homeland: One Cow, One Wagon, One Plough
Chief Moses and his delegation come home through Spokane Falls with the government's terms in hand: surrender the country, remove to the Colville reservation, and be paid out in oxen, harness and farm tools.
- The New Council Takes On the Sewage in the River
Spokane Falls' freshly seated city council moves against the habit of dumping garbage and sewage into the river above the falls — and against boys loitering in saloons.
- 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.
- A Portland Editor Reports from the Gold Fields
E. G. Jones of Portland visits Spokane Falls and files a dispatch: the town is the 'principal city of Eastern Washington,' the mines are real, and the smart money is already building stage lines.
- A Watch Snatched on Howard Street, and a Call for a Real Jail
A late-night robbery in the alley by Rima's store prompts the paper to warn that the gold rush is importing 'tough citizens' faster than Spokane Falls can lock them up.
- The Sting Operation at Squier’s Saloon
A Spokane businessman orchestrates a trap to catch a man selling liquor to local Indigenous people.
- The Self-Made Man of Spokane Falls and His 240-Acre 'Idlewild'
A profile of James E. Roe, who arrived four years ago with not a dollar and now owns a livery stable, a sawmill interest, and a ranch of surpassing beauty eight miles east of the city.