Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Today when someone mentions the name Fort Spokane, most people immediately think of the swim area and campground operated by the National Park Service. These areas are indeed a great asset to Lincoln County, but just above these recreational sites lies the remnants of the last frontier military fort ever built by the US military. Historic Fort Spokane dates back to 1880 when the last of the west was slowly being settled by our pioneers who were a bit cautious of potential...
Moving is one of those things everyone encounters over a lifetime, and very few find enjoyable. Packing alone is a job most dread, but then there's also the damaged or missing items, the need to find a few extra people to lift that heavy item, and of course those miscellaneous boxes that never quite get unpacked. Moving certainly isn't for the faint of heart, and while there are plenty of reasons people choose to move, it seems location is at the top of the list. You'd...
Believe it or not the end of June marks two years since I took office, and I thought it was time to share another update on what we have been up to at LCSO as well as some growing trends. If I had to pick one word to sum up the most important focus over the last two years, I would go with hiring! Two years ago, we were down 12 positions across both sides of the house with almost zero applicants in sight. This was not something we advertised for good reason, but it did prove...
Imagine for a moment there was a small brush fire creeping towards your house and you call 911 only to be told the fire department was not allowed to put out your fire. While this might sound preposterous to you, it is not far off from what the Washington Legislature is slowly doing to law enforcement in our state. To illustrate this frustration, I'd like to share a legal update with you on a few recent changes to the state law. As you are probably aware the Supreme Court of...
DAVENPORT - The small schoolhouse structure seen today outside Lincoln County Museums looks a bit different than it did originally but stands proudly on the museum grounds serving as a window into the past. Its history spans many decades and if it could talk, would tell stories covering over 140 years of local history. The schoolhouse was originally built in Fall 1879 as a homestead cabin by William McRedmond (whose father, Luke, founded the city of Redmond) along with his...
DAVENPORT — As the city prepares to host an influx of visitors for Pioneer Days, one could consider it worthwhile to recall the most famous of visitors past. Along the same wavelength, a Davenport Elementary School teacher posed the question, “Who was the most famous visitor to ever come to Davenport?” during a recent visit to a fourth-grade classroom for a local history discussion. Davenport has hosted visits from numerous people who could be argued as the most famous person to have come through town. This is a diffi...
DAVENPORT--Several years ago, Davenport was home to a town pet in one friendly wild turkey. He walked into town as a stranger but over time became so well known that the people around town gave him the name of Clyde. Clyde could be seen roaming the streets of town where people would stop to wave hello or offer him something to eat. He stayed around town for many months despite being injured in a series of clashes with the motoring public, as he'd stop in the middle of Morgan S...
DAVENPORT--We are all approaching the time of that seasonal "cooped up" feeling that visits when Old Man Winter arrives in town. You can choose to pass this time indoors to read a good book, play a crossword puzzle or take a Sunday drive. If the latter is your preference, then I suggest you start in Davenport where history can be found all around. Take for instance a concrete rectangle standing near the alley on Ninth Street between Maxwell and Main. You've probably driven or...
DAVENPORT – With the recent opening of Lincoln Hospital's new medical clinic, area residents are once again reminded of how fortunate they are to have top notch medical care and providers in our own backyards. Medical providers and facilities have been a mainstay of Davenport since pioneer days, and behind every good facility are those who put in many years to serve others. People like Lincoln Hospital's "Honest Abe," who has been filling shifts at the hospital since it opened...
DAVENPORT – A recent local Facebook post asked the question, "Why are so many people in Davenport cutting down trees?" That's a tough question to answer. Perhaps there's a valid reason for these acts such as diseased or hazardous trees, or maybe it has something to do with the maintenance required to enjoy them. Raking leaves can get old, but should we take into account a little history before making such a final decision to remove a tree? When early pioneers came to L...
Editor's Note: See the Feb. 18 issue of The Times for part 1 of this historical feature. As safecracker Edward Leroy Lucas laid dying in the Lincoln County Jail, he requested officials notify his wife of his pending death. Spokane investigators responded to Davenport with belief that Lucas and C.H. Lea had been involved in other burglaries and crimes across eastern Washington. Two identity and fingerprint experts were dispatched to Davenport and recognized Lea as an escaped...
If there was ever a year in history that rivaled 2020's embrace for the rapture, it would have to be the year of 1918. It was a year that, like 2020, saw our country in the middle of a global pandemic, while also still in the midst of battling World War 1. Historians suggest crime in the United States decreased that year, just like it supposedly did in 2020, but if you lived in Davenport at that time you'd probably have a different opinion. In addition to the world events of t...
Names come in all shapes and sizes. Some people are named after ancestors who came before them, a special friend, or sometimes after a random item like a tree. They can be spelled in a traditional way or have various letters added to make a unique creation that follows that person throughout their life. In all circumstances, names have history that can tell a story unique to that person, place, or thing. The communities of Lincoln County are no exception to this rule and all...
DAVENPORT-- As you drive north on Highway 25 from Davenport you’ll encounter beautiful fields of golden grain as you climb in elevation for many miles before descending down into a canyon full of pine trees. This canyon north of Reinbold Road has been known as Bockemuehl Canyon for well over 100 years, and is still labeled that way on many maps today. The story behind Bockemuehl Canyon is one full of history, perseverance, and myth and it all begins with one man: Bernard B...
As a student of history, I often wonder what we have learned from historic events in our world. I personally don’t believe history truly repeats itself, but that doesn’t mean there are not parallels. I tend to lean more toward a phrase Mark Twain has been credited for saying: “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” With that in mind, I spent time looking back at what our area experienced in 1918 during the influenza pandemic. I began looking through local his...
Everywhere you look in our world you will find laws, or rules that shape the way we behave. Sometimes these rules are proactive in trying to prevent a problem that hasn’t happened yet, and sometimes they are a reaction to a problem we have already had. Either way, a law or rule really only keeps an honest person honest. For the purpose of this article, I thought it would be fun to explore some early Davenport laws to see what citizens of bygone times thought was important t...
