100 years ago in Spokane: ‘Corfu Route’ to foreshorten distance between Spokane, Seattle

A new highway in the middle of the state promised to shorten the auto route between Spokane and Seattle by more than 60 miles.

“The new route through Grant County will be known as ‘The White Trail,’ named after one of the commissioners of that county,” said a local tire salesman and auto enthusiast.

They were also calling it the “Corfu route,” because it went through the tiny town of Corfu, between Beverly and Othello. It was a much more southerly route than the existing auto routes, one off which went through Ephrata and the other through Wenatchee.

The new Corfu route would go through Cheney, Sprague, Ritzville and then on to Corfu and Beverly. Then it would cross the Columbia River at Vantage Ferry and continue on to Ellensburg and over the Cascades.

There was one note of caution about this new route: It was “not in as good a condition as the two old routes.”

However, it was “being improved” and by next year (1919) it “may be as good as the old routes.”

From the education beat: The wartime labor shortage was proving to be good news for many Spokane teachers. At least 20 high school teachers were given $200 pay raises and another 34 were given raises of at least $100 a year.