‘The King’s Guide’ focuses on unknown founding father of Spokane E.J. Brickell

If the man who put Spokane on the map during the 1880s had even a trace of ego, the Lilac City might have been known as Brickell. Edward James, or E.J., Brickell invested heavily in Spokane and helped birth the city with a tireless and uncommon commitment during the dawn of the technological revolution.

The mysterious founding father of Spokane was the president of, well, just about everything that mattered at the dawn of the city. Brickell was president of Traders National Bank, Truckee Lumber Co., Spokane Bottling Co., Old Dominion Mining Co. and Security Loan and Trust Co. The list of the local businesses that were integral to the development of Spokane and run by Brickell is as long as the Centennial Trail.

It’s mystifying how there’s not a trace of Brickell in Spokane. There’s not a road, park or building named after the most significant player in the early history of the city. The informative and aptly titled book “The Lion in the Shadows,” a Brickell biography written by his great-great-grandson, James Brickell, and local historian Chuck King and available at Auntie’s Bookstore, provides detail about the life of an altruistic and wise businessman who laid the groundwork for Spokane and revived the city after the devastating fire of 1889.

The latest edition of “The King’s Guide,” aka “Chuck King’s Guide to Spokane History,” a program hosted by the aforementioned King on his website, kingsguidespokane.com, provides the details of the late tycoon’s life in an entertaining manner. During the latest episode, King tools around Spokane in a 1956 Chevy Bel Air driven by the car’s owner, Jim Dormaier, with his co-author while King’s guide producer, director and editor Garrin Hertel, captures their discourse.

How could Spokane’s first millionaire have fallen through the cracks of history? How is the city not named after Brickell, who enabled Spokane to become a viable entity, a thriving city with a population of more than 227,000 nearly a century and a half after he arrived? “I agree,” King said. “He did a ton of stuff for Spokane, particularly after the fire. He moved quickly.”

King is speaking of the Great Fire of 1889, which destroyed much of the city. But as King details, Brickell was behind Spokane’s rapid resurrection. However, few know of Brickell. None had an idea about the man who laid the groundwork for their city. “I think a big reason for that is due to how Brickell lived,” King said. “He didn’t look for attention. He didn’t live in a mansion.”

Not only did Brickell live in a humble manner in an apartment for a well-heeled leader of a burgeoning town, there were only two photos ever taken of the savvy businessman. Brickell, who grew up poor in Michigan, left for California to seek his fortune during the Gold Rush. Years after achieving considerable success, Brickell was invited to the Inland Northwest by Anthony Cannon, who tried to develop Spokane but lacked capital. Cannon, the namesake of Cannon Hill Park, persuaded Brickell to travel from California to Spokane in 1880.

Within three years, Brickell, who saw the potential of a town by the powerful waterfall, moved to Spokane and immediately took center stage in the development of the city. Brickell turned the local saw mill into Spokane Falls Lumber and Manufacturing Co. Brickell followed by starting the Traders National Bank on Howard Street and Riverside Avenue, where the Bank of America Plaza is today. Brickell’s company owned most of the land known as Riverfront Park. However, Brickell never placed his name on any of his businesses.

Brickell is a mystery to many, and there is even uncertainty about the pronunciation of his surname within his family. James Brickell pronounces Brickell like the ice cream, butter brickle. However his great-great-granddaughter Iris Cantlon, who amuses during her “King’s Guide” appearance, insists Brick-ell, stress on the first syllable, a la singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, is proper.

At the time of Brickell’s death in September 1891, nearly all of Spokane showed up to pay their respects with a funeral procession that was longer than a mile.

“E.J. Brickell had no desire for display and cared little for ceremonies” is how the Rev. W.C. Gray eulogized him, according to a Spokesman-Review reporter on Sept. 28, 1891.

Brickell’s work created an impressive city.

“What he accomplished here had an impact on Mark Twain, who came here in 1895,” King said. “Twain remarked how the streets were paved and buildings were 10 stories high, and he said that Spokane was like a town back East.”

King has made big efforts so folks know how integral Brickell was during Spokane’s formative years.

“There’s no doubt that E.J. Brickell brought Spokane to life,” Hertel said. “When other people ran out of money, he used his wealth as Spokane’s first millionaire and energy to jump start this town.”

It’s all laid out in great detail during the latest episode of “The King Guide.” Expect a number of “King’s Guide” episodes to drop in the near future.

“There are a lot of great untold stories here that either people forgot about or don’t know about here in Spokane,” King said. “A lot of the stores are fascinating.”

King and Hertel are compelled to deliver untold or forgotten stories about a Spokane that doesn’t exist anymore.

“Our goal is give people a sense of what Spokane was like back in the day,” Hertel said. “We would like to show people Spokane was as wild as Tombstone and Dodge 130 years ago. I think people here, particularly those who grew up here and are lifers, have become kind of complacent about what Spokane is. Our show is to celebrate how cool this place was.

“I think ‘The King’s Guide’ will help people gain a new appreciation of Spokane and love their town more because they know the history of it.” The tandem nailed it with the story of Brickell, one of the most important individuals in Spokane history.