Spokane was growing quickly and a political battle ensued over moving its first cemetery

About the time of Cannon’s arrival, the railroads began connecting Spokane to the outside world.  Spokane’s population jumped from about 300 in 1880 to over 19,000 in 1890.  By 1891 the city limits stretched south to 29^th avenue.  (As may be recalled, when Cook bought over 600 acres on the Manito Plateau, most of it was outside the city limits, which then extended only to 14^th.)  The 1915 federal census (as published in the Polk Directory) placed the population figure at 139,323.  With such rapid expansion, the community faced the problem of where to bury its dead.  This was of some consequence to the early land developers.  Typically, cemeteries are established during the early stages of settlement.  They are usually situated in some of the most prime locations in a community. Often becoming coveted building sites as view and other choice property becomes scarce.   Such was the fate affecting two of Spokane’s first cemeteries, which were in the path of residential expansion.  There are many conflicting stories regarding these burial grounds, some of which may be clarified by the following quote from the May 26, 1897 Spokesman Review.   It provides excellent descriptions for both these cemeteries:

THE OLD CEMETERY

MOVEMENT TO REMOVE ONE OF SPOKANE’S LANDMARKS

PIONEERS ARE BURIED IN IT

Oldest Settlers Do Not Remember When It Was Started

Bodies to Be Exhumed

 A movement is on foot to remove one of the most important historical landmarks in Spokane.  Last week a petition prepared by J. W. Witherop and signed by W.J.C. Wakefield, John Finch, J.J. Browne, Dr. W.W. Potter and other residents of Browne’s Addition, was presented to the city council, asking that 17 bodies buried in the old cemetery near the end of the boulevard and Pacific Avenue [Browne’s Addition] be exhumed and reinterred in one of the modern cemeteries – either Greenwood or Fairmont.  The petition stated the matter briefly, pointing out that the west end is rapidly becoming the most beautiful residence portion of the city, that remains of most of those buried in the cemetery had been removed some time ago, and it would add to the attractiveness of the neighborhood if the remainder were removed.

This was Spokane’s first cemetery.  Here it was that many of the sturdy pioneers who came over the trail from Oregon, or from the far east, years before the Northern Pacific railroad was dreamed of, were buried, as were their wives, and in many instances their children.  How the location was selected as a cemetery no one remembers.  It was certainly a sublime spot, however, situated on the abutting point of land, wrapt [sic] in the dense solitude of the primeval forest, commanding one grand, sublime view of rugged cliff and… the valleys of Hangman creek and the Spokane.

The exact date of the cemetery’s first burial is unknown, as were also the burials of later times.  No tombstone was ever erected in the plot; only some plain wooden slabs, lettered by the hands of some loving father, husband or brother, told for a few brief months the name of the departed.

In speaking of the old grave yard yesterday, James N. Glover, Spokane’s oldest pioneer, said:  “Yes, I understand the old cemetery is to be removed.  This was Spokane’s first cemetery.  I do not know how old it is; It was there when I first came, and used for many years afterward.  About 12 years ago most of the remains were removed.  I thought all, but it seems not.  No, I do not know the names of those buried out there, for I do not know how many were removed.” J.J. Browne, on whose land the cemetery was located, was more familiar with the later history of the cemetery than Mr. Glover.

“This,” said Mr.  Browne, “was Spokane’s first burying ground.  How it came to be selected I do not know; it was already located when I arrived.  That was before it came to be surveyed and was sold as government land.  When I got the land from the government, the cemetery was included in my purchase, and people continued to use it for many years afterward.  That was probably 18 years ago.  The cemetery was used until about 12 years ago, when most of the bodies were exhumed by friends and taken to Spokane’s second cemetery, the old burying ground in what is now known as Cannon’s Addition, probably a half mile south of the Irving school.  This latter cemetery was not used but a few years, the town growing so rapidly that the cemetery was abandoned and the bodies again exhumed, most of them taken to Greenwood or Fairmont.  I believe the number of bodies named in the petition as being still buried in the old cemetery is erroneous.  The petition say 17, but I believe there are no more than six or seven.  Do I know the names of those buried?  No; or at least not many of them.  I remember attending a number of funerals, however, the first funeral I attended in the city was that of Mr. Lowry, a young man, 21 years of age, who worked in one of the mills, if I remember rightly.  The parents of the young man later moved to Montana, and the remains were not exhumed.  Another funeral I attended was that of Mrs. Evans.  Shortly after her death her husband also removed to Montana, and was lost track of.  She remains buried in the cemetery.  Another, and the only remaining case that I know of is that of a Mr. Evans, who lost his life in a log jam up the river.  He was buried there, and only last week his wife came to see me to learn if the remains could not be removed to Greenwood or Fairmont.  I thought the proposal impossible, but she felt sure that she could identify the remains if they were exhumed.  She said that Mr. Evans lost his life up the river and that his skull was fractured in such a way that she would never forget it, or fail to identify the remains.  The fracture was on the side of the head, and she still remembered how it looked.  I also remember the burial of a number of men killed in a wreck on the Northern Pacific trestle, just north of the city, when that road was being built through the city.  If I remember rightly, though, these men were buried by the various trainmen’s societies.  A number of the Havermale children were also buried there.  The first that I knew of the movement being on foot to remove the remains was when the petition was presented to me last week.”

Next week, we’ll learn more about the various cemeteries in Spokane, how they were formed and where they were located.

The Cannon Addition is formed…..

Simultaneous with the development of the Manito and Cliff Park Additions was the growth and expansion of the Cannon Hill neighborhood.  This area encompassed the southwest corridor to Cook’s hill.  It encompassed the region from the freeway south to 29^th Avenue, and from Bernard west to the bluff overlooking Hangman Creek.  Although commonly known as Cannon Hill, it includes numerous additions, including Cannon’s Addition and Cannon Hill Addition.  The following is the sample real estate advertisement that appeared in the March 8, 1888 Spokane Daily Chronicle:

Arlington Heights

Of

Cannon’s Addition

In the most beautiful location for fine residences in Spokane Falls.

 It is now for the first time on the market though parties desiring beautiful homesites have been trying to buy lots in it for years.  It consists of 25 blocks finely located on an elevation which commands a view of the entire city and a prospect of the mountains and surrounding country which can not be excelled.  It is but three-fourths of a mile from the postoffice [sic].  We will take pleasure in showing the property to those who may desire to examine it.  The terms will be easy and price low.  Sale will begin on Wednesday the 7^th, and those who apply first will secure first choice.

Clough and Graves

And

H. Bolster & Co.

Sole Agents

 

Anthony M. Cannon, the developer of Cannon’s Addition, arrived in Spokane in 1878.  With his business partner, J.J. Browne, they purchased half of the original townsite from James Glover.  Among other enterprises, Cannon started Spokane’s first grocery store and later built its first bank.  In the early 1880s, he acquired 160 acres adjacent to the townsite through government land grant.  A condition for obtaining title to such land was the grantee reside on the site.  Cannon was not adhering to this requirement and almost lost it to a squatter.  However, a group of unidentified men influenced the squatter to vacate by firing numerous volleys of gunfire into his cabin.  It was later suspected the assailants came from a party Cannon was holding the evening of the attack.  Many articles written about Cannon, both in early newspapers and books, portray him as a great achiever and also somewhat of a hothead.   Cannon at one time among Spokane’s wealthiest men, amassed most of his fortune from real estate development, especially during the rebuilding of Spokane following the Great Fire of 1889.

Where was "Cliff Park" in Spokane?

Closely related both in time and geography to the new Manito Park project was the development of Cliff Park (located directly above “The Hill”).  An October 17, 1903 Spokesman Review article stated:

Spokane is likely to have one of the finest scenic driveways in the country in the near future.  Negotiations are now pending for the vacation of a boulevard site on the edge of the great cliff which overhangs the southern part of the city.  The boulevard idea has been formulated in connection with the big park project developed recently for the picturesque area on top of the bluff.

For a half mile the edge of the cliff is nearly level, providing a site upon which a driveway could be graded without great expense.  Rugged formations of basaltic rock, the beauty of which can only be appreciated from close at hand, are piled fantastically, forming the precipitous cliff.

Scores of people visit the cliff daily in good weather, owing to the natural beauty of the immediate surroundings and the wonderful view of the city, the valley and the mountains beyond.  With a fine driveway itself would make Spokane famous, as it would be ranked with the most picturesque in the world.

UNITE TWO PARKS

Manito and Cliff Park would be united by the proposed boulevard.  Manito Park is the 95 acres just donated to the city by the interest which are developing three new additions on the top of the cliff and adjacent to the new Graves street railway line.  There are 52 acres donated by the Spokane-Washington Improvement Company on behalf of Manito Park addition, 36 acres by the Washington Water Power company on behalf of the South Side Cable addition and seven acres by Frank Hogan on behalf of his own tract, contiguous to the other two.

The proposed cliff boulevard would pass through the big new park, and connect with Manito boulevard, the 175 foot driveway which has been laid out through Manito Park addition to the south.  The park itself, as well as the resident sections, always will be exceeding picturesque, owing to the rock formations, the pines and the verdure.

Cliff park is in the center of the old Cliff park addition, the property of the Northwest Improvement company, a subsidiary corporation of the Northern Pacific railway.  Cliff park has been platted around a huge rock that is the monarch of all the cliff region, towering from 75 to 100 feet above the uplands.  The great rock is nearly an acre in size and except to the most expert is now accessible only at one place.  Its precipitous sides in some places have the same fluted formation as the giant’s causeway on the coast of Ireland, while in others the crumbling black basalt has been interwoven with vines and covered with clinging moss.  The park which has been dedicated to the city consists of about seven acres, including the great rock.

Spokane Discovers That "Free" Parks are Expensive!

Last week, in our continuing series on the founding of Manito Park, we learned of the gift of the 400 acre park to the city of Spokane and the conditions connected therewith from the donors.  Today, we continue the story and learn about the plans the city put in place to meet their obligations of the gift with respect to the water they were to provide for the park and the surrounding neighborhood. 

According to the book “Manito Park:  A Reflection of Spokane’s Past”, by Tony Bamonte and Suzanne Schaeffer Bamonte of www.tornadocreekpublications.com:

A 50,000 gallon water tower was constructed at 14^th and Grand, but it soon became evident that a larger capacity tower was needed.  In 1908 the first tower was replaced with the existing 200,000 gallon tower.  The streets were a more challenging matter.  In 1907 newspaper headlines read,

“GREAT PARK IS IN DANGER, City’s Title to Beautiful Tract at Manito Has Not Been Protected – Much Money Spent – Conditions Not Fulfilled”

and

“CITY DID NOT KEEP PLEDGE – Will Donors Ask Forfeiture of Park?...” 

The reality of what the conditions were costing the city was now apparent.  Eventually waivers were filed in 1911 by the original donors relieving the city of the obligation to build 50-foot wide streets around the park. 

The following year, J. P. Graves offered another sizeable donation of land for a park, this time in Spokane’s north end.  It was also accompanied by a list of conditions.  On July 11, 1912, the park board politely declined Graves’s offer unless he would remove the contingencies.  Four days later, Graves withdrew his offer. 

In spite of the related costs, Spokane is fortunate to have had individuals with the foresight and means to donate private land for its beautiful parks.   Aubrey L. White (discussed later) had a vision of a park within walking distance of every neighborhood and was instrumental in securing the land for many of Spokane’s parks.  In 1918 a Spokesman Review article boasted that Spokane “leads all other large cities in the United States in park acreage per each thousand population.”    However, one can conclude that in many cases, the donation of park land was not totally altruistic acts by the donors, who wished to enhance the value of their vast tracts of real estate.

Click over next week and we’ll hear about another of Spokane’s parks, Cliff Park.

How Manito Park Got it's Name

For weeks now, we have been posting excerpts from the book “Manito Park:  A Reflection of Spokane’s Past”, by Tony Bamonte and Suzanne Schaeffer Bamonte of www.tornadocreekpublications.com.  We have explored several of Spokane’s founding fathers who were instrumental in building the Spokane metropolis as well as getting many of the public areas donated and set up – ala Manito Park.  If you would like to read some of the back chapters, click over to www.ManitoPark.org or to www.manitoparkorg.blogspot.com and get caught up.

Today, we will explore how Manito Park actually got its name, and learn of a few more fun facts about the park itself.  Be sure to check out the progress we make each week on one of the links above.

Although the Panic of 1893, and the depression that followed, had temporarily halted further development of Montrose/Manito Park until the early 1900s, with the renewed effort to create a park for the city, the naming of Manito Park was reported on July 31, 1903.  The headline in the Spokane Daily Chronicle” read:

IT IS NAMED MANITA PARK

Large New Addition on the Southern Hill

BOUNDS CHOSEN

The plat for the big addition which is to be put on the market by the Spokane-Washington Improvement company has been completed.  The addition, which is half a mile wide by a mile and a quarter long, has been named Manita [the spelling used in this article appears to have been a misprint and an isolated incident] Park, referring to its elevation, which affords a fine view of the city.  It is composed of 56 blocks of land…The addition is on the route of the line of the Spokane Traction company, the new street car system being installed by Jay P. Graves.  In fact the car line will run through nearly the entire center of the tract.  It is bounded on the north by Fourteenth avenue, on the south by Thirty-third avenue, on the east by Hatch street and on the west by Division street.  In all it contains 400 acres of land, 320 of which is in the city limits.  The remaining 80 acres is south of the city limits… The two drives through the addition will be Grand street and the boulevard [refers to Manito Boulevard], running parallel with each other north and south, or lengthwise through the tract.  Grand street is being graded 75 feet in width and will have a double car track for the new Graves system.  The boulevard will be 175 feet in width, with a 77 foot parking strip in the center, while on either side will be parking strips.

During the spring of 1904, Manito Park was officially deeded to the city by the Spokane-Washington Improvement Company and Spokane & Montrose Motor Railroad Co (Jay Graves’s companies), Washington Water Power, the Northwestern and Pacific Hypotheekbank, and Frank Hogan.  This gift came with specific conditions, which were outlined in the deeds.  They are condensed as follows:

1.       The donated park property must be used forever for the sole purpose of a public park.

2.       The donation is made subject to the city paying the 1903 taxes.

3.       The city shall construct a first class driveway, of not less than 50 feet in width.  This drive will service the entire area in the vicinity of the park and is to be completed by January 1, 1905.  The city is required to forever maintain this roadway.

4.       The city shall lay a ten-inch water main to the junction of Division Street and Fourteenth Avenue prior to November 1, 1905.  They must forever keep this water main filled with water.

5.       The city shall extend an eight-inch feeder line from the ten-inch main to other sections of the Manito Addition.  They must forever keep this line filled with water.

6.       Since the city will need a water reservoir to fulfill the conditions of providing water for the building sites around the park, the grantors also provide permission for the city to locate, construct and maintain a water reservoir on this newly-gifted park property.

7.       If the city fails to meet these conditions, the property will revert back to the granters.

An interesting point – considering the costs involved in the installation of roads, water sources and sewer lines – was the lack of publicity regarding the city’s future financial obligation in the acceptance of this land.  A number of private-interest groups, such as these Manito Park benefactors, had great influence on the local politicians and media, a practice common throughout Spokane involving many of the early parks.  Today, this conflict of interest would likely receive much public criticism and challenge.  However, at the time, it was key to the development of the parks and their surrounding neighborhoods.

The First Motorized Trip to Manito Park

One of the earliest defining events relating to the development of the Manito plateau occurred on Friday, November 16, 1888.  The historical narrative of the first motorized trip to the top of the plateau was published in the Morning Review the next day.  It read as follows:

THE MOTOR LINE

Public Gratification at its Early Completion.

Comments on the Magnificent Suburban Property.

The Trial Trip Yesterday – a Full Description of the Comfortable Jaunt – In Perspective.

“All aboard!”  shouted Conductor Peebles yesterday, and as the guests stepped on the car, the engine gave a tug and the long-delayed trial trip on the motor line was fairly under way.

HOPES REALIZED

For several weeks the streetcar line has been waiting for the Northern Pacific’s permission to tunnel under the tracks at the Washington street crossing.  At last, however, the owner of the city road, Mr. Cook, decided to operate his line at once as far as it was already completed.  He issued a number of invitations for the trip and among those who accepted them were:  Mayor Hoover and wife, Councilman Waters, Johnson and Fortheringham [Fotheringham], J.J. White, city clerk, Chief Warren, City Attorney Houghton, and the representatives of the press.

THE ROUTE

The heavy haul of so many passengers up the steep grade along the four blocks on Washington street severely tested the power of the motor;  but after a sharp struggle she mounted the hill and turned to face to the East.  The engine that drew the first car over the line was a very-powerful one of forty-horse power with six drive wheels, which are good at holding or propelling.  The line runs from there to Stevens street, and after winding in and out for some distance, enters a deep rock cut about 200 feet long.  Emerging from this cut the road traverses the side of a high bluff, from which is a grand view of the city is obtainable.

PICTURESQUE SCENERY

At the Central school [predecessor to Lewis & Clark H.S.], the eye plainly discerns the far off suburbs of the North Side.  From Ross Park to the falls; from the “Hill” to the fairgrounds [now Corbin Park] four miles away, nothing save the foliage of the evergreen pines and cedars, interrupt the view of the thriving and picturesque city of Spokane Falls.  The passengers were all charmed with the view and said that no stranger that wanted to see Spokane in its beauty should fail to ride to the end of the motor line.

Ascending another grade we reached the switchback and mounted the summit of the hill [the site of the present Cathedral of St. John].  From there the road continues on for one mile through Montrose Park and other additions to our city.  The land there is a level prairie with the best of soil instead of the gravel upon which the city proper is built, and the residences property in that neighborhood will now become quite as attractive as that in any other part of our town.

When the end of the line was reached the guests stepped out of the car and were engaged for some time looking at the scenery; and they would have probably kept on gazing until nightfall if the whistle had not warned them to get aboard for the return trip, which was made in very quick time.

THANKS FOR THE RIDE

As they stepped off the car at Second street the passengers with one accord thanked Mr. Cook for his courtesy and the ride, and sauntered to their respective homes.

The crew of the train were:  Conductor, Chad Peebles, engineer, Frank Goodrich, fireman, John Krick.  The regular schedule will be in operation tomorrow.  The line will be run with a transfer at the Washington street crossing to one of the company’s cars which will be pulled by horses to the Front street end of the road.  [The Washington Street viaduct, was not completed when the streetcar began operating].

Tune in next week to hear the next chapter about when the boundaries of Manito Park were defined.

Spokane Grows at a Rapid Pace....

Today we continue the story of the burgeoning growth of Spokane, especially on the prestigious new “South Hill” area.  Our story continues, according to the book, “Manito Park:  A Reflection of Spokane’s Past”, by Tony Bamonte and Suzanne Schaeffer Bamonte of www.tornadocreekpublications.com.

The key to selling real estate in the early 1900s was the availability of street railway service to the development, graded roads and water.  When Graves purchased Cook’s Spokane & Montrose streetcar line in 1902, he immediately began to enlarge and improve it.  He then organized the Spokane-Washington Improvement Company to “plat additions, install water systems, grade streets, establish and maintain parks, and all other necessary functions vital to property development.”  Graves sold 50 acres south of 33^rd Avenue to the Spokane Country Club for a clubhouse and nine-hole golf course.  This was a well-executed scheme to attract future buyers to lots around that site.  Other developers also began selling lots on the South Hill, and it was soon revealed that a large tract of land would be donated for a park.

Francis Cook’s original development project was destined for success – without him.  There are conflicts amongst historians regarding the precise point of Manito Park’s inception.  A number of recorded events suggest a “park of sorts” as early as 1886, when the first fair in Spokane County was sponsored by Francis Cook and held somewhere on his “farm on the hill” (most likely in the vicinity of Mirror Lake).  The Polk Directory lists “Montrose Park, 2 ½ miles S. of city on Cook’s Electric Line” for the years of 1896-1898.  In the 1899 Polk Directory, only the Montrose Park Addition appears, and from 1900 to 1902 both Montrose Park and the Montrose Park Addition are listed.  A Spokesman Falls Review article appearing in April 1888 highlighted Montrose Park as the destination for local picnics and family excursions.  Another recorded event corroborating the early Montrose Park was an article appearing in the June 28, 1902 Spokesman Review:  “The old pavilion at Montrose Park was burned yesterday morning.  The building was not worth very much.  Charles Reeder, agent for the Provident Trust Company, which owned it, expresses the belief that the fire was of an incendiary origin.”    If this pavilion was considered “old” in 1902, it apparently was built during Cook’s ownership and development of the area, probably at the time of the fair in 1886.

Watch next week at www.ManitoPark.org or at www.manitoparkorg.blogspot.com for the next chapter in this continuing series recounting the interesting events that eventually led up to the establishment of our beloved Manito Park.