Spokane (/spoʊˈkæn/ ⓘ spoh-KAN;[8] Spokane: sƛ̓x̌etkʷ[9]) is a city in and the county seat of Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, 110 miles (180 km) south of the Canadian border, 20 miles (30 km) west of the Idaho border, and 280 miles (450 km) east of Seattle, via Interstate 90.[10]
In what is now Spokane, the first American settlers were J.J. Downing and S.R. Scranton, cattle ranchers who squatted and established a claim at Spokane Falls in 1871.[33] Together they built a small sawmill on a claim near the south bank of the falls.[33][34] James N. Glover and Jasper Matheney, Oregonians passing through the region in 1873, recognized the value of the Spokane River and its falls for the purpose of water power.[33] They realized the investment potential and bought the claims of 160 acres (65 ha) and the sawmill from Downing and Scranton for a total of $4,000.[35] Glover and Matheney knew that the Northern Pacific Railroad Company had received a government charter to build a main line across this northern route.[33] Amid many delays in construction and uncertainty over the completion of the railroad and its exact course, Matheney sold his interest in the claim to Glover.[36][b] Glover confidently held on to his claim and became a successful Spokane business owner and the city’s second mayor.[37] He later came to be known as the “Father of Spokane”.[38][39]
In 1880, Fort Spokane was established by U.S. Army troops under Lt. Col. Henry C. Merriam 56 miles (90 km) northwest of Spokane, at the junction of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers, to protect the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway and secure a place for U.S. settlement.[40] By June 30, 1881, the railway reached the city, bringing major European settlement to the area.[41][42] The city was officially incorporated with a population of about 1,000 residents on November 29, 1881.[43][44][c] When Spokane was officially incorporated in 1881, Robert W. Forrest was elected as the first mayor of the city, with a Council of seven, S.G. Havermale, A.M. Cannon, Dr. L.H. Whitehouse, L.W. Rima, F.R. Moore, George A. Davis, and W.C. Gray, all serving without pay.[43] The marketing campaigns of transportation companies with affordable fertile land to sell along their trade routes lured many settlers into the region they dubbed “Spokane Country”.[45][46]