Spokane Valley, Washington
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Image:Spokane Valley in Spokane County.png Spokane Valley, Washington is a newly incorporated city in Spokane County, Washington. It is located east of Spokane and west of Liberty Lake. It surrounds the town of Millwood on three sides. The city has a population (as of 2000) of 83,950, though its first official U.S. Census will not be until 2010.
History
The Spokane Valley started to become populated in the early part of the 20th century after a private venture formed the Modern Electric Water and Irrigation Company. Irrigation by ditch began in 1908, attracting farmers and immigrants by way of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads, for which Spokane was a major hub, including extensive shops and facilities. The valley eventually became a major apple growing region before suburban growth overran the valley after World War Two. After a large shallow lake in the eastern part of the Valley was drained, the entire valley, from the hills in the south to the river forming the northern border, was covered in orchards.
The people of the valley always maintained independence from the City of Spokane on its borders. Very quickly schools were built, a local newspaper started, The Spokane Valley Herald, and even an early airfield was carved out, later named Felts Field in honor of the Herald founder who died in a plane crash there. A streetcar line was started as early as 1908, and later extended to Liberty Lake in the east part of the valley, where entertainment facilities were built for music and outdoor gatherings. Various townships were formed, including Millwood, named for the paper mill that still exists there, but for the most part the valley remained unincorporated throughout the 20th century.
Industry began to replace agriculture after the building of Coulee Dam, which combined cheap electricity with readily available water from the Spokane River and the extensive aquifer which underlies the valley. At its height the valley was the site for an aluminum plant, a cement plant and a paper mill, but plans to attract light industry through the establishment of an industrial park at a former military depot were not very successful. The cement plant closed in the 1950's, but the paper mill and aluminum plant remain.
In the 1950's a further transformation swept the valley as the post World War Two population boom began to push into the valley, replacing apple orchards with tracts of houses. The first shopping mall was built at University Village on Sprague Avenue (formerly called Appleway), which became the major artery through the Valley, lined with stores and restaurants. The last large-scale orchard irrigations ended in the late 1950's, canvas pipes running down residential streets replacing the old ditches by that time.
In the later decades of the last century the valley experienced a large influx of retirees, due to inexpensive housing and the relatively dry weather. Retirement complexes and apartment blocks began to appear. At the present time the Valley remains principally a suburban area, a mixture of families and retirees and the retail commerce to support them.
Spokane Valley incorporated on March 31 of 2003, after being turned down in four previous referendums. At its creation, it was the third-largest newly-incorporated city in US history (after Centennial, Colorado, which incorporated in 2001; and Miami Gardens, Florida, which incorporated about five weeks before Spokane Valley).
The situation of Spokane Valley as an urban outgrowth of Spokane is very similar to the outgrowth of Sandy Springs from Atlanta in Georgia. Sandy Springs would itself incorporate on December 1, 2005, passing Spokane Valley for third place on the list of largest newly incorporated U.S. cities.
One interesting fact about Spokane Valley is that while in Spokane itself north-south streets are called "streets", they are called "roads" in the Valley, even though usually only rural access roads are given that term. East-west streets are called "avenues" in both Spokane and the Valley, and usually have the same name (Sprague Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in both cities).
Geography
Spokane Valley consists of the communities of Yardley, Dishman, Opportunity, Greenacres, Veradale, Trentwood, and parts of Otis Orchards.
