Fort Spokane

Looking for the Fort Spokane Visitor Center? Learn more about the history of Fort Spokane in person!

 

Soldiers standing in front of barracks. Fort Spokane was built and operated by the U.S. Army in 1880.

NPS historic photo

 

Quartermaster's Stables, Fort Spokane.

NPS photo

A Cultural Crossroads

Fort Spokane and the surrounding landscape hold great historic significance. For thousands of years, the area was a gathering place for native tribes fishing the rapids of the Spokane River. In 1880, the U.S. Army established a fort above the confluence of the Spokane and Columbia Rivers. With the start of the Spanish American war in 1898, the garrison was withdrawn and troops were sent to more strategic locations. The buildings and lands were turned over to the Office of Indian Affairs to be used as an Indian boarding school, which operated from 1900 to 1907. After the boarding school closed, the buildings served as a tuberculosis hospital until 1929. In many ways, the Indian experience at Fort Spokane is a microcosm of the Indian experience across the United States.

The Fort Today

Today, the National Park Service operates Fort Spokane as a visitor center and museum. During the summer, the guardhouse is open as the visitor center and museum. The grounds are open year-round with accessible walking trails. Step back in history with a tour of the museum exhibits and grounds.

Exhibits

The military of the "Indian Frontier" was different than any Civil War regiment in many ways. Uniforms, weapons and photographs of the military are on exhibit in the historic guardhouse. When the military left in 1899 the buildings were converted into an Indian Boarding School run by the government. Photographs and first hand accounts of life at the boarding school are exhibited throughout the guardhouse. All exhibits and programs are free of charge.