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The history of Spokane and its surrounding Inland Empire
shines in relation to most areas of the world because it was the last
section of the North American Continent to come under control and
development of a single modern imperialistic nation. This came about
because this rich domain of about 200 miles in diameter was ringed by
formidable mountain ranges that were difficult to penetrate. See map
above. With the Selkirks on the north, the Rockies on the East, the Blue
Mountains on the South, and the Cascades on the West. This isolation
retarded the rapid influx of agricultural settler, elsewhere often a
rather prosaic over-night affair, and instead, forced an unusually long
and exciting period of human-interest events involving fiercely resisting
Indians, rugged explorers, freedom loving fur traders, missionaries,
prospectors, miners, soldiers, cattle and sheep raisers, adventurers,
surveyors and railroad builders. All of whom, for six or seven decades,
were permitted to operate in a wild romantic land, uncluttered by white
population.
Modified from: Spokane Corona, Eras & Empires; by
Edmund T. Becher Native American
History Regional History
Spokane History |
