Spoken, Washington - historyLong before European settlement, the Spokane Indian tribe populated what is now Spokane County. Spokane is an Indian word for "Children of the Sun."The first whites to move into the area were fur traders and missionaries. Then the 1850s brought an expansive growth of settlers engaged in agriculture. In 1873, James N. Glover purchased a plot of land near Spokane Falls to create a new town. That land is now most of Spokane's downtown business district. Glover is considered to be the "Father of Spokane." The 1880's brought even more people with discovery of gold. The city of Spokane grew quickly from the help of the money being generated by mining activity. But in 1889 the city was virtually destroyed by a disastrous fire. However, the wealth hadn't disappeared and the city was rebuilt with classic European architecture.

The Northern Pacific Railroad completed its line through Spokane in 1881. This in turn was followed by the Great Northern and Union Pacific railroads in 1901 and 1911, respectively. By the 1920s, Spokane was a major railroad town and today continues to be a rail transportation hub and an economic and cultural center of the Northwest.