100 years ago in Spokane: City patriarch dies of pneumonia

From our archives,

100 years ago

Michael M. Cowley – one of Spokane’s earliest pioneers and most respected residents – died at age 74 of pneumonia at his home at 1128 Pearl St.

He settled in the Spokane area in 1872, long before the town of Spokane Falls even existed and a year before the arrival of James Glover, often called the Father of Spokane. Cowley sailed to America from his native Ireland at age 15 and roamed the West as a miner and as a sutler for the U.S. Army. In 1872, he moved to Spokane Bridge (near today’s Stateline) and operated a store and the toll bridge. It would later become known as Cowley’s Bridge. He also became postmaster of that small settlement.

In 1889, he moved into town and became a leading banker and civic leader. He played a key role in rebuilding the city after the Great Fire of 1889.

Contemporary historian Nelson W. Durham wrote, “The consensus public opinion places him in a prominent position among those whose lives have won for them the respect, good-will and confidence of the fellow men. … He early had the sagacity and prescience to discern the eminence which the future had in store for this great and growing district.”

A photo depicted Cowley with a white beard reaching well past his sternum, fitting for one of Spokane’s original patriarchs.