Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Maj. Gen. Arthur Murray delivered a stirring endorsement of Fort George Wright.

“Fort George Wright may become one of the big military posts in the United States,” said the commander of the Western Division of the U.S. Army. “It will never be abandoned by the War Department. It is peculiarly located so that it might become one of the most strategic points in the country in time of war.”

Yet he also added an important proviso: “I have not the authority to say what the War Department’s disposition of the post will be.”

He also couldn’t see as far into the future as 1957. That’s the year Fort George Wright was declared surplus and abandoned by the army.

From the golf beat: The Spokane Park Board announced plans for its first municipal golf course, at Upriver Park.

The board said it was beginning construction of a nine-hole course near Parkwater, along with a six-hole beginner’s course.

Park Superintendent John Duncan said there had been a public demand for a city golf course for several years and that “the new links will bring the game within reach of every one.”

As it turned out, Upriver Golf Course lasted only a couple of years. Another municipal course, Downriver Golf Course, was built in 1916 and deemed to be far superior. The city closed Upriver Golf Course and converted it into the city’s main airfield, Parkwater Field, later renamed Felts Field.