Fort Spokane was strategically located at the convergence of the Columbia River and the Spokane River about fifty miles (80 km) west-northwest of the city of Spokane, it was the last army frontier post established in the Northwest. In 1884 there were about 25 buildings, including six barracks, a schoolroom, an ice house and a two-story administrative building topped with a glass-sided cupola. Eventually there were about 50 buildings built on the post which included officers' quarters, enlisted men's barracks, a hospital, chapel, post headquarters, morgue, quartermaster warehouses, shops, stables, and post trader store. The post served to consolidate older posts like Fort Colville closer to the population areas, and as a buffer between the Indian reservations and settlers in the area. When the Spanish–American War broke out in 1898 the troops at Fort Spokane were moved elsewhere and the fort was turned over to the Colville Indian Agency. In 1899 the post became a boarding school for Indian children until 1914, when the post became a tuberculosis sanatorium for the next 15 years. The site was abandoned by the government in 1929.[3]
Preservation and restoration
The National Park Service took over the site in 1960 with only four original buildings remaining from the fort. Four buildings and the site have been preserved and are now part of the Park Service's Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The restoration has saved the 1884 stable, the 1888 powder magazine, the 1889 reservoir and the 1892 guard house.[4][3]
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