Cowley

Spokane Story

Spokane Story

“Spokane Story: A Colorful Early History of the Capital City of the Inland Empire” by Lucile Foster Fargo offers readers an evocative journey through the formative years of Spokane, Washington. Published in 1957 by Northwestern Press in Minneapolis, this work seeks to straddle the realms of history and storytelling, presenting a narrative that is neither entirely factual history nor pure fiction. Fargo accepts the challenging task of depicting Spokane’s cultural and developmental evolution from its fur trade beginnings to its emergence as a municipal entity in the early twentieth century.

Biographical Sketch of Charles T. Cowley

Charles T. Cowley was born on July 26, 1844, in St. Albans, Vermont, to John and Mary Cowley. Following his education and early work in farming, Cowley enlisted in the First Vermont Cavalry in 1862, participating in significant battles including Gettysburg, where he was wounded and captured. In 1864, he moved to Weybridge and began working for Philo Jewett. Cowley married Emily Jane Wilkins on March 30, 1870, and they had two children. He subsequently lived on the Sylvester Foot farm before remaining a resident of Weybridge.