Places
Cheney’s County Courthouse
Named for a Native American word, Spokane, which means “Child of the Sun," the original Spokane County was merged into Stevens County in 1864. Cheney’s Daniel Percival and Spokan Falls’ John Glover didn’t realize the drama they were setting in motion when they championed a bill in the territorial legislature that recreated Spokane County in October of 1879.
Spokan Falls was designated the temporary county seat until there could be a vote of the people in November 1880. A committee of men representing the precincts of the new county met to discuss options. Cheney ...
404 1st Street
The Hubbard-Hansen buildings were erected in 1909 as a single front façade with two businesses. Our focus here is on the east half, 404 First Street.
What was here before 1909? Well, nothing, until after 1905 when a small wooden structure on part of the lot held the office of the Cheney Transfer Company, a "draying" or hauling business.
Here's a quick list of occupants:
1909-1910 Peter Monk's ladies and gents' furnishings and millinery
1911 - 1916 Jesse G. Campbell's Cheney Cash Store
1916 - 1929 E.N. Guertin's or Guertin's Cash Store.
1929 - 1948 ...
Winter Camp of Spokane Indians
In 1959, Sam Webb recalled that back in the 1880s a family of Spokane Indians camped on the site of the new Gibson's Grocery (1011 1st Street) every winter. He said the camp was made up of about 10 to 15 teepees. This site is on high ground near the spring of water that gave Cheney its original name of Willow Springs.
Sam came to Cheney as a boy with his family on the first passenger train on the Northern Pacific Railroad line.
The Cheney area is part of the Spokane Tribe of Indians territory.
402 1st Street – Cheney Map
The building you see today, originally known as the Hansen-Hubbard building, was erected in 1909 by Cheneyite, George Yeaman for Charles I. Hubbard and Peter C. Hansen. The one-story brick building was divided into two stores with their entrances facing 1st Street. Our focus is on the left half, 402 1st Street owned by Mr. Hubbard.
What was here before? We can go back to 1884 when M. Kaminsky & Son operated a general merchandise store from a one-story wood building on this corner. Kaminsky left town in 1890 and the building was taken over by a dry goods merchant. It ...
Fisher Building to School House Lofts
Hallways retain many of their features, including lockers, classroom doors, and the trophy case.
1920 Senior Hall
Senior Hall was dedicated as the second Normal School women's dormitory on July 9, 1920. While today there is a walkway, in the early days, D Street and automobile traffic passed in front of the building. The hall was used as a dormitory until 1971. While the hall opened in 1920, work on the third floor wasn't finished until 1925 due to financial problems.
Senior Hall was a three-story brick, U-shaped building with two entrances that had cast-iron canopies each end of the front, very similar to Monroe Hall. Within the U at the back of the hall, was a sheltered ...
1940 Hargreaves Hall
From the time he became President of the Normal School in 1926, Richard T. Hargreaves wanted to build a modern library for the school. His death on March 4, 1939, midway through construction of the new building, meant that his most ambitious project bears his name as a memorial to his efforts.
Mr. Hargreaves was born in England in 1875 and came to America with his family at age eight. After graduating from university, he began his career in education as a teacher in Kansas. He first came to Washington in 1909 as Principal of North Central High School in Spokane. After ...
1929 President’s House
This Georgian Colonial style house was completed in 1929 for President, Richard T. Hargreaves and his wife, Edna "Rose" Morrow Hargreaves. The home was occupied by succeeding school presidents until 1987. It then became a faculty club, as well as a special events venue for the college and community. Weddings, receptions, and other special occasions were held in the renamed University House until 1998. That summer, President Stephen Jordan and his wife, Ruth, moved into the President's House, returning it to its original use.
The two-story red brick house is 47 by 30 ...
1916 Monroe Hall
Monroe Hall was the first dormitory built at the Normal school. It was dedicated February 4, 1916, and housed about 90 women. At this time, the majority of students were women, as teaching was one of the few professions open to single women.
Monroe Hall featured a dining room and laundry facility for its residents. Prior to this, all students boarded in private homes, boarding houses, clubs, and “light housekeeping” rooms. People who made a living from providing room and board to students saw this new dormitory as the of killing private enterprise by the state. It ...
1948 Memorial Field House
Another ghost on the campus. This one loomed large in folks memories, not only for the many sporting events they attended there, but also its spectacular end.
After World War II, the government had surplus buildings available. One of those was a drill hall at Camp Walgreen at Farragut Naval Training Base north of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Some local boys, including Chuck Shepard were stationed at Camp Walgreen for training in the early days of the war.
In April 1947, Eastern Washington College of Education, as it was known then, acquired the building. Gaasland ...
