Spokane, Our Early History: Under All Is the Land

This generously illustrated book offers a comprehensive history of the founding, development, destruction by fire, and subsequent rebuilding of Spokane, Washington, during its first 40 years (1871-1911). It describes Spokane's trials and tribulations, along with its grand successes, as wealth from the nearby mining districts, vast forests, and rich agricultural lands poured into the city. As the first few early settlers struggled to survive in suffocating isolation, they could hardly dream that within four decades a thriving metropolis and major railroad hub would emerge that boasted a population of nearly 100,000. Today, the greater-Spokane area is home to nearly half a million people. Its historic palatial mansions and impressive commercial buildings rival those of cities many times its size. This book describes how the infrastructure, commercial enterprises, city park system, and neighborhoods developed. It tells of the town's founders, developers, builders, architects, capitalists, and even some of the “characters.”

Hardcover (8.5” x 11”), 320 pages, 395 photo illustrations, indexed.