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| Joseph, Oregon at the base of Oregon's Wallowa Mountains |
Is Joseph, Oregon, in the Inland Northwest?
After being told for years that eastern
Washington, northern Idaho, and northwestern Montana, comprise the Inland
Northwest, we were interested to discover that Baker City, Oregon, is also
included within that distinctive region, according to a travel brochure from the
area.
But people involved in a Wiki
discussion about the Inland Northwest's borders are convinced it is limited to eastern
Washington and northern Idaho. They are irritated by the proposition that parts
of Oregon and Montana are included.
They are also wondering if "Inland Empire," and Inland Northwest are the same thing.
What is the Inland Empire?
The Merriam-Webster Geographical Dictionary
(published in 1949, 1972, and 2001) says the Inland Empire covers Eastern
Washington, northern Idaho, northeastern Oregon, and far-western Montana.
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| A railroad trestle spans mountain tops in northern Idaho, an area through which people walked until trains between Chicago and Tacoma connected it with the outside world. |
"Inland Empire (Pacific Northwest). Here are entered works about the Northwestern United States between the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho and extreme western Montana."
Spokane: the Hub of an Empire
Historylink.org, backed up by the
State of Washington and the Washington State Department of Archeology and
Historic Preservation, says that the Inland Northwest and Inland Empire are the
same place: "Spokane is the commercial hub of the interstate area known
formerly as the “Inland Empire” and now as the Inland Northwest.”
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Historical photo of Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad in
downtown Spokane, Washington, USA in 1912, from the collection of The
Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA
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In the old days, the word "empire"
defined a promising region that rich people were investing in, where,
opportunities were rampant, and one could get lucky if he or she ended up in
the right place as the right time. Nowadays the
idea of empire has fallen out of favor, being commonly associated with unbridled exploitation of land and people by an
elite few. Nowadays, "Inland Northwest" is a more palatable term.
Spokane began to
emerge as the center of the Inland Empire in the late 1880s, when the discovery
of gold in north Idaho caused it to boom. Many fortune hunters from around the
nation acquired their grub stakes in Spokane and used it as a jumping off point
to the remote mountain mining areas.
The "Inland Empire" name memorializes railroad tycoon Jim Hill, who was widely known as the "Empire Builder, for his role in developing rail access to the resource-rich Northwest.
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| Farms and mountains of the Inland Northwest attracted homesteaders and speculators who sought rich lands like this field near Sanders, Idaho, between Coeur d'Alene and Joseph, Oregon |
Spokane grew as a
commercial and financial hub where railroads converged, and from which eager
entrepreneurs and settlers traded and fanned out to the surrounding mines,
fields, and forests. Today, the city serves the commercial,
manufacturing, transportation, medical, shopping, and entertainment needs of an
80,000 square mile region.
Former Secretary of the Spokane
Chamber of Commerce, John R. Reavis, opined about the city's sphere of
influence in his 1891 Annual Report:
"By reason of her
geographical position and railroad connections Spokane is fitted as no other
city is, or ever can be, to be the distributing center of all that country
within a radius of 150 miles, and in some instances territory much farther
away. (Pacific Northwest Collections, University of Washington
Libraries. Spokane, Washington: W. D. Knight. pp. 6–7, 10–12.)
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| Spokane Washington's service area in 1891 |
Towns
near the edge of Reavis's 150 mile radius are: Wenatchee and Winthrop to
the west at the base of the Cascade Mountains; and Whitefish, Montana, at the
base of the Rocky Mountains to the east. By Reavis' parameters, "The
Empire" included Walla Walla, Washington, to the south, and
Lewiston in Idaho, (only 87 miles south of Spokane) where the Snake and Clark
Fork rivers converge, and which some argue is the southern terminus of the
Inland Northwest. Note the 150 mile radius encompasses Joseph on the south and also extends north into Canada.
Enter Baker, "Queen City of the Inland Empire”
Did Reavis's "much farther away"
comment include Baker City, Oregon? In 1900, Baker City, boasted a
population larger than that of Spokane, which is 200 miles north as the crow flies.
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| Baker City, Oregon |
Baker City prospered due to a profusion of gold
strikes and it promoted itself as the “Queen City of the Inland Empire,” according
to The Oregon Encyclopedia, a project of the Oregon Historical Society.
So, According to historical authorities, the Inland Empire
and Inland Northwest are one and the same, and the area reaches from the
Canadian border, south as far south as Baker City, Oregon. Apparently, the cities of Wallowa County, in Oregon's
northeastern corner lie within the sphere of the Inland Northwest.
