Spokane, Washington

Spokane (pronounced "sp?-CAN" {{IPA|}}) is the county seat of Spokane County in the State of Washington. It is also known as the seat of the Inland Empire. Situated at the foot of a valley, midway between the rise and mouth of the Spokane River, it is 280 miles east of Seattle and 375 miles northeast of Portland. It is the commercial center of the eastern part of Washington and of the northern part of Idaho, and the distributing point for a great agricultural, lumbering, horticultural, and stock raising region. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 195,629, and recent projections place the metropolitan population at around 560,000.

History

• Spokane Falls was a gathering place for indigenous people because the Spokane River was teeming with salmon.
• By 1881, the Northern Pacific Railway was completed at this point bringing European settlement.
• The city of Spokane was officially incorporated on November 29, 1881.
• Washington becomes a state in 1889.
• Originally called "Spokan Falls", the city became "Spokane" in 1891.
• In the summer of 1889 the city's downtown commercial district was destroyed by fire.
• Between 1900 and 1910, the population grew from 36,848 to 104,402.
• Dams on the Spokane River ended salmon fishing in 1908.
• The railroad town of Hillyard, Washington was annexed in 1924.
• The downtown area next to the river was renovated from a railroad yard to a one hundred acre park in 1974 in preparation for the World's Fair.