Place Names Around Valley Are Rooted In Colorful History
It’s great to see backers of one of the new Valley incorporation efforts take the golden opportunity, so to speak, to propose the name “Opportunity” for the imagined city.
It’s a name filled with promise and possibility, optimism and auspiciousness. It would set the perfect tone for civic boosters and business recruiters going after big companies like Micron.
Maybe those connotations are what prompted young Laura Kelsey, the daughter of an onion grower, to propose the name in a contest back in 1905. Laura won $10 for her suggestion in the contest, which was sponsored by real estate agents for Modern Irrigation & Land Co.
That was back when “The Beautiful Spokane Valley” was touted as an ideal suburban environment for settlement, with 40,000 irrigable acres. The name must have seemed perfect for the bustling block of businesses at Pines and Sprague.
My curiosity about the origin of the name Opportunity led me to that information and to origin stories for several other place names around the Valley.
Here is a little background on some of the place names we see in travels around the Valley, with thanks to the now-defunct Spokane Valley Pioneer Museum for its place-names document, and to Florence Boutwell, whose book, “The Spokane Valley: A History of the Early Years,” contains many colorful stories about the long and rich history of this area.
Speaking of Sprague, that name was attached to the east-west avenue by James Glover, who wanted to honor Gen. J. W. Sprague, superintendent of the western division of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The name Veradale is rooted in the name of D.K. McDonald’s daughter, Vera. McDonald was an early land promoter. The “dale” was added because of another post office in Washington named Vera.
Velox was a Northern Pacific telegraph station named by chief clerk Arthur S. Clendinning. The name comes from the name of a race horse, Harry Velox, owned by Clendinning’s father.
A.T. Dishman lent his name to the town of Dishman when the first building went up in 1895. Dishman opened a granite quarry after the fire of 1889, and many Spokane buildings are constructed of this stone.
Chester was named by officials of the Oregon Rail and Navigation Co., which completed a railroad here (now Union Pacific) about 1889.
Trent may have been the maiden name of the wife of J.A. Stegner, who opened a general merchandise store around 1890. Trent, sited along Northern Pacific right of way, was once in competition with Spokane Bridge and Spokane Falls for leadership of the region.
Greenacres was the first irrigation district in the Valley and was named by real estate promoters.
Millwood was originally an electric car line or train station called Woodard (from Seth Woodard), which was change to Millwood when the paper mill was built in 1910.
Argonne was Woodard Road until a bridge was built at Millwood in 1920, when it was renamed for World War I’s Battle of Argonne.
Newman Lake was named for William Newman, a boundary surveyor with the U.S. Army, who settled on the shores of the lake around 1865.
Steve Liberty (formerly Etienne Eduart LaLiberte) settled on the west side of what is now called Liberty Lake in 1871. It was earlier called Grier Lake after an army major.
The Shelley family homesteaded at Shelley Lake.
Felts Field was formerly the Parkwater Airport, but was renamed in 1927 for an active citizen and popular Reserve Air Squadron flier, Lt. Buell Felts, who was killed in a plane crash during a training flight.
University Road and University High School take their name from a bible college founded by the Rev. B.E. Utz that formerly occupied 160 acres around the site of U-Hi.
Saltese was named for the Coeur d’Alene Indian chief, Andrew Seltice, who lived on the east side of the lake that was subsequently drained. (Seltice was good friends with Steve Liberty).
Sullivan Road was named for John P. Sullivan, who homesteaded near Vera around 1884.
And Plante’s Ferry Park is named for the early trapper Antoine Plante, who lived with his Indian wife on the north side of the Spokane River near the present site of the park. The Hudson Bay Co. agent was considered the first permanent settler of the Spokane Valley. He built a cable ferry across the river in the 1850s.
Just in time for Christmas
Speaking of Valley history, Florence Boutwell and Arthur H. Clark Co. have just published a second volume of Valley history titled “The Spokane Valley, A History of the Growing Years,” which is now available in softcover for $17.50. The hardcover is due out Dec. 16, when a signing will be held at the Arthur H. Clark offices, 9017 E. Euclid. Both volumes of Boutwell’s books are available there and at other locations in the Valley.
, DataTimes MEMO: On Your Way is a Valley Voice column focusing on commuter lifestyles and issues. Your views on any of the topics discussed are invited. Please write: On Your Way, The Valley Voice, 13208 E. Sprague, Spokane, WA 99216. Or fax us at 459-5482.