Featured Stories
Kurt Waldheim at EWU
In 1982, Eastern Washington University set out to find a notable commencement speaker to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
Invitations to participate in the centennial celebrations went out to notable alumni, state and federal congressional…
The Davenport Hotel
The Davenport Hotel was the brainchild of restauranteur/entrepreneur Louis Davenport. Davenport was not a Spokane native, but he found himself in Spokane shortly after the great fire of 1889. Davenport lent his hand to the cleanup and…
Brown Industries
During the Second World War businesses across the nation began to shift their production to help focus on supporting the war effort. One such business located in Spokane was Brown Metal Works, later called Brown Industries.
Located on the corner…
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Ghost Signs of Spokane
17 Locations ~ Curated by Frank Oesterheld, Anna Harbine, Caitlin Shain, and Erin PulleyRecent Stories
“Will Be Run Out of the City”
Beginning early in the year of 1905, Chief of Police Leroy Cotman Waller unleashed a campaign against all “vagrants” designed to round up as many perceived undesirables as possible and place them in the city jail. As the war on crime progressed into…
NAACP Protests Birth of a Nation
In 1915, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was a fledgling organization fighting for racial equality in the United States. The release of Birth of a Nation that year galvanized the young organization. The film…
Deer Lake Irrigated Orchard Company
Founded by Peter B. Barrow in 1910, the Deer Lake Orchard Company consisted of 140 acres of farmland meant to provide an opportunity for Black workers trying in hope of to build their place in the Northwest. With the combined efforts of 45 investors…
The Wednesday Art Club
The Wednesday Art Club was founded in July of 1913 in Spokane Washington. The organization was lead by African-American women, who not only held art shows but strived to better the Black community in Spokane. The art shows that were held highlighted…
The Murder of Private Samuel Hicks
In June 1946, the semi-finals of a Golden Gloves boxing tournament occurred at Geiger Air Force Base. There were 7,000 soldiers in attendance to see the match between a white and Black soldier. After a great showing in the first round, the Black…
Spokanites and the Civil Rights Movement, 1964-1965
Sponsored by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the 1964 Freedom Summer was set up as a voter registration drive amidst the tension of civil rights activism which had grown in frequency across the South. James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and…
Spokane Historical
A project by Eastern Washington UniversitySpokane Historical is a web and mobile platform for telling stories of Spokane and Eastern Washington. Spokane Historical is a project of the Public History program at Eastern Washington University. Spokane Historical is a free app available on your Android or iPhone smart phone or tablet.
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