159 National Register listings published here · the county-history sources tell 3 stories and name 636 people · people the book names include Colonel William R. Abercrombie (Spokane, 1912) (machine-read).
Washington within the United StatesSpokane County within Washington
What the record shows
1,486 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
159 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 125 buildings, 23 districts, 7 structures, 3 sites and 1 object.
27 of the 159 listings were added during the 1970s.
The Geographic Names Information System records 103 populated places in this county; 103 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.
What happened here
3 accounts
Among them: Spokane And The Inland Empire 581; Wilson S. Swain; Spokane And The Inland Empire 57. These passages come from the
identified county-history source books. Each inset names its own source
and opens the exact section it comes from.
Ritzville fire department. In November, 1908, he was elected sheriff of Adams county for the years 1909 and 1910 and in the fall of 1910 was reelected without opposition for the term of 1911-12. He has brought to justice a number of murderers and has also broken up a "black hand" band, compelling them to cease operations in Adams county.
Wilson S. Swain, who is president and manager of the Swain Detective Agency whose offices are located in the Empire State building, was born in Princeton, Illinois, on the 31st of March, 1856, his parents being William T. and Martha E. (Simmons) Swain. The father was a member of the Twelfth Illinois Regiment in the Civil war and was killed in the battle of Shiloh.
Squadron on board the United States gunboat Chicopee and was one of the men that volunteered to accompany Lieutenant Gushing when he blew up the rebel ram Albemarle. At the capture of Plymouth, North Carolina, Mr. Scott was severely wounded. Following the close of the war he engaged in mining in Colorado, New Mexico and Washington and was at one time connected with the United States mail service, being United States mail agent from Chicago, Illinois, to Danville, at the time of the historic republican convention held in Chicago in 1880.
Every wildfire the federal occurrence
database records inside this county: 3,574 of them, burning
about 41,428 acres. 424 started naturally and 207 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within
five miles of it.
Reported cause
Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
733
Debris and open burning
662
Recreation and ceremony
640
Natural
424
Misuse of fire by a minor
267
Arson/incendiarism
207
Equipment and vehicle use
163
Power generation/transmission/distribution
128
Fireworks
119
Other causes
86
Smoking
78
Railroad operations and maintenance
65
Firearms and explosives use
2
The five largest, by the area the report
gives. One of them was set deliberately.
Date
Cause
Size
Reported by
Name on the report
7 September 2020
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
15,269 acres
Northeast Region-Department of Natural Resources
BABB
21 August 2016
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
6,017 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
YALE
11 August 1996
Debris and open burning
3,020 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
not named
20 July 2003
Smoking
1,073 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
not named
10 July 2008
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
1,006 acres
Northeast Region-Department of Natural Resources
SPOKANE VALLEY
14 August 1997
Recreation and ceremony
772 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
not named
11 July 1994
Arson/incendiarism
680 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
not named
31 July 2015
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
425 acres
Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters
LONG LAKE
Every settlement page carries the fires within five
miles of it - see the settlement index below.
Storms,
1954 to 2025
60 of 249 shown
The
NOAA Storm Events Database holds
249 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 30 injuries and about $28,785,660 in recorded property damage.
Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
Kind of event
Reports
Thunderstorm Wind
107
Hail
44
Flood
33
Tornado
16
Flash Flood
15
Heavy Rain
11
Lightning
11
Funnel Cloud
6
Debris Flow
4
Wildfire
1
Dust Devil
1
The most serious of them, by death, then
injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the
forecast office filed them.
During the afternoon of September 19th an isolated rain shower with small hail moved over the Spokane area. On the westbound lane of Interstate 90 drivers were blinded by the low sun shining in their eyes while small hail created slippery conditions. Over 50 cars and trucks were involved in numerous accidents and pileups along a four mile stretch of westbound I-90 in the city of Spokane.
A wet microburst brought sustained winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts 60 to 70 mph across Spokane County. The winds descended near Cheney and peaked while passing through Airway Heights, Northwestern Spokane, and Deer Park. Hundreds of Ponderosa Pines were snapped and downed from Northwestern Spokane to Deer Park. Downed trees led to widespread structural damage, blocked roads, power outages, and injuries. Significant damage was observed at the Riverside Village Mobile Home Park from trees falling on mobile homes prompting a search and rescue. One woman was trapped but was not injured. At least 40 mobile homes and cars in the park were severely damaged. Forty eight trees were knocked down at a resort on Lake Eloika. Trees fell on six RVs and the resort's oldest cabin forcing the owners to close their doors for a short period of time. One person was injured when a tree landed on his vehicle while driving along Lakeside Dr near Reflection Lake in Elk, WA. A tree branch flew through his windshield and drove him off the road severing his arm and impaling his hip. He eventually lost his arm in the accident. Three other people were injured near the Spokane Courthouse by falling tree branches. Over 30,000 people lost power during the event. Because of the extent of damage, some residents and businesses remained in the dark for up to four days. Downed power poles and lightning strikes sparked several new wildfires which quickly grew due to the strong winds. The winds completely damaged a airport hanger and caused between ten to twelve thousand dollars worth of damage to planes.
A series of rain storms and low elevation snow melt caused saturated soil conditions through out Spokane County through the second half of March. These conditions lead to numerous small stream and field flooding issues through out the county. Homes and buildings along the shore of Williams Lake and Newman Lake experienced flooding from high lake levels. In Mead a hillside began slowly sliding in a residential area necessitating the evacuation of two homes. Spokane County was included in a State of Emergency declaration issued by the state Governor. ||Twenty two roads in the county were washed out or at least temporarily closed due to flooding.
Numerous trees were downed or snapped across Northern Spokane County including the communities of Deer Park, Chattaroy, Colbert, Mead, Nine Miles Falls, and Spokane north of Interstate 90 due to a west to east tracking outflow boundary. A second cell developed along the boundary producing quarter size hail over Five Mile Prairie and sent an outflow boundary north to south across the South Hill and Spokane Valley roughly thirty minutes after the initial gust front went through. A NWS employee stated winds associated with this boundary were less than 25 mph but witnessed a tree fall down. Due to its isolated nature, it is assumed that this tree was damaged from a storm two weeks earlier. Significant damage was observed from northwestern Spokane to Chattaroy to the Pend Oreille County border. The Riverside Mobile Home Park was hit hard for a second time in as many weeks and forced to evacuate. Numerous trees fell on homes. One home on North Echo Road suffered major structural damage. The nearby Eloika Lake Resort lost eight trees in the storm. The trees damaged a home, RVs, and vehicle. The resort which lost 48 trees in a storm ten days earlier was forced to shut down for the remainder of the summer.
Numerous areas across Spokane County experienced flooding on the 12th of February. Due to frozen grounds, the flood problems persisted through the 14th in some cases. A small ice jam on Coulee Heights Creek caused the creek to become diverted and flow into a private residence. Water was approximately five feet deep in the garage and surrounding home. A NWS employee observed up to two inches of water with some mud and small debris flowing down Rambo Road just north of the Forecast Office. Water was over a foot deep along the shoulders. The swift water washed out portions of the shoulder and foundation to the edges of the pavement. A few blocks away from the Forecast Office, water flooded the West Prairie Village Mobile home park located on the corner of Craig and Haid Lane. It was estimated that one to two feet of water filled sections of the park. In southern sections of the county, many secondary roads were flooded in low crossings. State route 27 just north of Latah near milepost 58 was impassible for a period of time due to water over the road. Water was also over the roadway along SR 2 two miles west of Airway Heights. Damage extended into the Spokane Valley with damage or flooding observed near the intersection of Sanson and MacDonald, Crown Street at Forker Draw, Ridgemont Estates on Shamrock Street, and Thorpe Road at Chester Creek.
Heavy rain and snow melt occurring February 15th and 16th produced numerous small stream and field flooding issues around Spokane County. Thirteen roads around the region were closed due to flooding and washouts on the road ways and the Spokane City Council declared a state of emergency to allow highway crews access to more resources to deal with the flooding repair and mitigation. The flooding persisted for at least the next week around the region.
Heavy rain and low elevation snow melt led to standing water in low lying areas, flooding along small streams and creeks, road washouts and isolated reports of some basement flooding. Spangle Creek flowed out of its banks resulting in water surrounding homes with basement flooding along a three block stretch. A vehicle became stuck on a flooded road and had to be saved by rescue personnel. There were reports of flooding in fields in Cheney and in Elk. State Route 231 between milepost 0 and 28 was closed due to water and mud over the roadway. Flood waters over Jackson Road took out an eight foot culvert and a portion of the road above the culvert. A small creek near Shady Slope and Little Spokane Drive came out of its banks resulting in minor flooding. Damage costs for the event were estimated.
Saturated soil conditions brought about by spring snow melt in March and periodic heavy rain in March and early April resulted in areas of small stream, field and basement flooding over parts of Spokane County. Numerous secondary roads were closed due to flooding on the roads and damage to the road beds.
Heavy rain in addition to snowmelt produced high water levels on the Little Spokane River, where flooding was pronounced near Dartford at the Pine River Park and several roads were under water. Other small streams were running at bankfull, including Rock Creek at Rockford, Hangman Creek and Money Creek near Deer Park.
Numerous power lines were knocked down between Spokane and Chattaroy due to winds sustained between 25 and 35 mph with gusts 45 to 55 mph. A brush fire destroyed three outbuildings and damaged a house near Mt Spokane Park Drive and Peone Road.
nws survey team concluded f1 tornado touched down and pulled up numerous times as it traveled from Pruffer and Wallbridge in se stevens county to near riverside in spokane county
A strong thunderstorm dropped hail ranging from half an inch to 2.75. Most hail reports ranged from 0.75 to 1.5. A 2.75 size was reported around Newman Lake at 1700PST. It traveled from Albion WA to Newman Lake WA around 1525PST to 1715PST. It damaged at least 15000 acres of crops, broke windows and damaged siding of homes in Liberty Lake, and dented numerous vehicles.
Lightning striking a power line caused a fire which spread to a nearby house, gutting it and damaging another neighboring house. Time estimated from radar data.
The Spokane River at Spokane River Gage recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 27.0 feet at 10:00 AM PST on March 18th. The river crested at 28.7 feet at 8:30 PM on the 23rd. The river slowly receded but remained above Flood Stage through the end of March and into April. Extensive flooding of fields and park land along the river occurred as well as basement flooding of some homes and businesses.
An NWS Storm Survey noted significant damage to approximately 5 miles of road including North Hazard Road, West Ballard Road, and West Hazard Road. Road closures are in effect until further notice. Time of damage estimated based on Radar. Estimated cost to repair roads at $200,000.
A strong thunderstorm produced in the neighborhood of one inch of rain and large amounts of pea size hail over portions of Northwest Spokane between 1900PDT and 2000PDT. The bulk of the precipitation fell within 30 to 45 minutes causing drainage systems to become overwhelmed. This resulted in several low crossings of highway 291 between Division Street and Nine Mile Road to quickly flood with anywhere from six inches to a foot and a half of water. Roughly forty basements in the area also became flooded with several inches of water. In the Indian Trails area where the terrain is steep, as much as three inches of water was observed flowing down the streets and carved out two to four foot trenches on a steep embankment going through the neighborhood park. According to city officials, the city's sewer infrastructure did not sustain any damage however several public properties submitted claims due to water damage in their basements. Twenty-five residents submitted claims with the city with an additional ten to twenty properties assumed to have gone through private insurance companies.
Heavy rain in addition to snow melt lead to another rise of the Little Spokane River near Dartford where the stage reached 6.9 feet. The area with the most impact was Pine River Park along with several roads in this vicinity which were flooded.
Numerous roads flooded in south hill and along and near the i-90 corridor. Several reports of basement flooding with some residences seeing water approach the doors. Multiple vehicles stalled in water, and one driver required assistance in being evacuated. Some neighborhood roads were temporarily closed and had standing water for hours.
The Little Spokane River Gage at Dartford recorded a rise above the Flood Stage of 6.5 feet at 2:45 PM PST March 15th. The river fluctuated slightly above and below Flood Stage before rising again and cresting 6.8 feet at 11:15 AM on March 19th. The river then slowly receded, dropping below Flood Stage at 2:15 AM March 20th.
The Spokane NWS clocked a wind gust of 62 mph on the RSOIS. Numerous trees, some large, were downed in Nine Mile Falls area, especially along West Charles Road. Some trees were uprooted and other were snapped halfway up the trunk. Trees fell on a combination of roofs, outbuildings, fences, and power lines resulting in multiple power outages. A large tree was uprooted along Highway 2 in the Deep Creek community. A large tree fell on a power line in Chattaroy leading to 178 power outages.
Heavy rainfall and mountain snowmelt lead to rapid rises on the Little Spokane River near Dartford. Much of this annual flooding was restricted to flooded basements, minor road damage and flooding a county park.
A squall line moving across the Newman Lake area destroyed a barn before pushing into the Idaho Panhandle. Wind speeds were estimated to up to between 55 and 60 miles per hour. A rough damage estimate was used for the event.
Thunderstorm winds and hail knocked out $50,000 worth of glass panes in a large greenhouse in the city of Spokane. Downed power lines blocked traffic on Interstate 90 and power was out at times for 100,000 customers. WEST VIRGINIA, Northern
Tornado generated a discontinuous line of damage first observed near the intersection of E. 9th Avenue and S. Cuba St. Video footage confirms a funnel cloud lowered at times and was disorganized as it moved from west to east. A second area of more significant damage was observed along 6th Avenue that included roof damage and many trees uprooted or snapped at the base. The third and longest track of damage began near E. 5th Ave and S. McKinnon Rd and included significant damage to trees and unsecured items along E 4th Avenue. The most noteworthy damage along E. 4th Ave was to a line of travel trailers, vehicles, and boats, several of which were tossed or displaced. Numerous large ponderosa pine trees were uprooted or snapped along E. 4th Avenue before the tornado again lifted. The final isolated area of damage was located along E. 5th Avenue between S. Coleman Rd and S Grand Rd. Security camera footage confirmed brief circulation at the surface along with two downed trees along the southern edge of the track before the tornado lifted for the final time.
A slow moving mud slide occurred at the base of a hill at the end of the 12700 block of East Sanson Avenue. The slide destroyed one outbuilding and flooded the basement of a home.
State Route 206 was undercut by Deadman Creek at mile post 14.5, which forced a temporary closure of the road. Only damage that occurred was along the shoulder of the roadway. Damage costs were estimated.
City of Spokane crews removed 26 downed trees from residential city streets and one arterial as a result of thunderstorm winds that measured at 60 mph at the Spokane Airport.
Lightning struck the roof of an apartment building north of the intersection of Sprague and Argonne, igniting a fire that burned a 6-by-22 foot hole in the roof of the apartment. The residents of the apartment escaped without injury.
Several businesses along Howard Street near the intersection of 2nd Avenue were flooded when heavy rain overwhelmed the city's storm drains. Water was spilling back into buildings through toilets and drain pipes. Among the businesses were The Interplayers Theatre and Howard Street Boxing.
Extremely localized swath of wind speeds estimated at 55-68 mph resulted in several trees uprooted/blown down in Audubon neighborhood including Audubon Elem, through intersection of Chelan Ave/Ash Street with minor damage noted. Spokane Airport recorded a gusts of 49 mph at 1535 PST.
Tornado followed a due west-to-east path along W. Greenwood Road. The damage indicators along the road mainly consisted of trees that were uprooted or snapped. Several powerline poles were brought down by fallen trees toward the middle of the damage path. No substantial damage was noted to structures along the path. A video that was shared by a resident near N. Kynan Rd. showed a very weak circulation moving due east along W. Greenwood Rd. This video footage confirms the timing and width of the tornado. Residents in the vicinity of Russell Rd. confirmed no further damage beyond this point.
A utility company reported approximately 45,000 customers without power, mainly in the Cheney and southwest Spokane area, due to branches falling on the power lines.
An NWS Storm Survey noted damage to private property along West Ballard Road between Austin Road and Highway 395. Damage to driveways was observed on multiple properties.
A rock slide blocked State Route 195 at milepost 68 between Rosalia and Plaza. One vehicle was struck by some of the rocks. Damage costs were estimated.
Several portable business signs in Cheney were blown over. In Spokane, large tree limbs were blown down into Grand Boulevard near Manito Park, blocking traffic for a time. Further east, several trees were blown down throughout the Spokane Valley. One tree fell into Bigelow Gulch Road, blocking traffic there for a time. A trained spotter in Otis Orchards measured a wind gust to 61 mph (53 knots) with several larger tree limbs down in that area. Avista Utilities reported about three dozen power outages caused by either trees blowing into power lines or wind blowing over power lines.
Mines and
quarries
371 recorded
The Survey's mineral resources record
lists 371 workings inside this county. 11 still produce and 360 are closed or unrecorded. Each
settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
Commodity
Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction
177
Stone, Crushed/Broken
65
Uranium
36
Fire Clay (Refractory)
27
Clay
16
Silica
11
Granite
8
Mica
5
Aluminum
4
Feldspar
3
Tin, Tungsten
2
Graphite
2
Beryllium
2
Stone
2
The least common of them first, because a
county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington (1900)
2,772 words
The county's history books
401,020 words
One book written about this county, cut here
where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 32 chapters in all.
Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and
reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's
towns is not repeated in this list.
An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington (1900)
Everyone An Illustrated History of Spokane County, State of Washington stops to write about, with
the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the
place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in
the words of 1900.
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names
Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages,
hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named
watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.