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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 25 |
| 1884 | 12 |
37 stories matching pass
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Editor Grudgingly Concedes Women the Ballot — and Fears for Their Womanhood
Washington Territory's 1883 suffrage bill passes the legislature, and the Spokane Falls Review's editor can't decide whether to congratulate women or mourn the loss of their 'sphere.'
- The Gun in the Wagon
H. P. Fox was scouting land near Loon Lake when a loaded shotgun discharged into his arm. Surgeons in Spokane Falls amputated, but the long ride and his weakened health were too much.
- A Widow, Two Children, and a Town That Passed the Hat
When Mrs. H. P. Fox arrived in Spokane Falls to find her husband dead of an accidental gunshot, strangers raised money for his burial and her passage home to South Carolina.
- The Grave Robbers of Spokane Falls
A quiet cemetery south of town is disturbed by a bizarre act of desecration, leaving a grieving family and a mystified community.
- A Body in the Garden: The Homesteader, the Hoe, and the Borrowed Coat
Neighbors scraping in a garden find Thomas Higgins buried just below the surface, shot twice in the head — and a young man named Nott wearing his coat.
- 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.
- A Tragic Railroad Accident
A young man loses both feet after falling between train cars while riding illegally.
- A Gun-Toting Guard at the Liquor Store
A store owner hires a guard to protect his liquor supply, leading to a dangerous and accidental discharge of a firearm.
- A Petition Vanishes and the Fight to Carve Up Spokane County Turns Nasty
As Olympia weighs a bill to split off the new 'Sprague County,' Spokane Falls editors cry foul over a petition with 300 names that disappeared from an office — and defend a rival editor accused of inventing the theft.
- No Monopoly on Gaslight: Spokane's Council Draws a Line
Council granted a gas company the right to lay pipes—but pointedly refused an exclusive franchise, warning that monopoly would 'cinch the consumers.'
- 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 Rush That Wouldn't Quit
Pack trains, wholesale houses and a flood of strangers: Spokane Falls cashes in on the Coeur d'Alene mining boom.
- 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.
- 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 Fireman, the Broken Leg, and the Brotherhood
When a Spokane Falls railroad fireman was badly hurt and allegedly left untended, the railroad Brotherhood organized — demanding an investigation and that the company hospital be moved to Sprague.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Newspaper War Between Spokane Falls and Cheney
Spokane's Review savages the county seat of Cheney as a mud-bound, half-deserted village of one brick building — and admits the whole feud is over which town will boom.
- Gen. Grant Slips Through Spokane Falls
The ex-president and railroad director Frederick Billings returned by daylight after a night passage. A professor's carriage tour and a box of silver specimens produced exactly the quote the young city wanted.
- Spokane Falls Denounces the Legislator Who Would Keep the County Whole
At Cannon's Hall, citizens passed resolutions demanding that the Territorial Legislature ignore Jacob Stitzel and split Spokane County in two.