Spokane Buys Itself an Army Post
Boosters raise cash and acreage for a new military post on the ground of an 1858 campaign against confederated tribes.
The work of raising the cash and lands with which to secure a site of 1,000 acres in the outskirts of Spokane for an army post is announced today, and the post is now practically assured. They have enough cash and land to buy and trade for all the land required. When this is done the deed will be made out to the government. It is believed the war department will immediately begin work upon the new post. The site is a beautiful tract along the Spokane river southwest of the city. It is historic ground, for it was here that Col. Wright, with an army of more than 1,000 regulars, struck the hostile confederated bands of the upper country the final blow in his campaign of 1858. That campaign brought peace to this section.
The citizens are much gratified at the successful termination of their efforts. In spite of the hard times, they have raised nearly $30,000 in cash and much more in real estate at its present valuation. It is said that $500,000 will be expended in the construction of the post, and that a garrison of not less than 1,000 troops will be stationed there.
“In spite of the hard times, they have raised nearly $30,000 in cash and much more in real estate at its present valuation.”
The tract southwest of Spokane became Fort George Wright, a military post that anchored the city's north side for decades. The article advertises the site as the ground of Col. Wright's 1858 campaign against confederated tribes, a reminder that civic boosterism and Indigenous dispossession often came bundled together. Today the former fort's grounds are home to a college and parkland, but the layers of military and tribal history remain visible.
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