The Spokane Area
Camp Washington (M) A site where Governor Stevens and Captain George McClellan, and their military and engineering teams, camped while they were working on the railroad surveys. Located on Coulee-Hite Road, 9 miles west of Seven Mile Road.
Four Lakes Battlefield (M) The battle of September 1, 1858, was a humiliating defeat for the confederated northern Indian tribes. It was fought in the area to the southeast of the modern town of Medical Lake. Wright's field camp was near the southern end of Granite Lake, next to the west-bound lane of Interstate 90. The soldiers drove the warriors off the top of Wright's Hill just above the east-bound lane of the freeway. Then the Indians were scattered by a dramatic dragoon charge down the north side of the hill and across the plain where the town of Four Lakes is today. A monument in that town commemorates the fight at the north end of Electric Ave., just south of the freeway.
Horse Slaughter Camp (M,P) A monument is near the place where Colonel Wright had 900 captured Indian ponies killed in September 1858. The monument is located next to the recreational trail along the Spokane River about 1 mile west of the Interstate 90 rest stop near the I-90 Spokane River Bridge, 19 miles east of Spokane.
Mullan Road (M) Intended as a military road from Fort Walla Walla,WA to Fort Benton, Montana. Named after Lt. John Mullan, who supervised the construction in 1860. It became a popular route for people going to the gold fields of Montana and Idaho in the 1860s. Located on the Palouse Highway, just south of 57th Ave.
Plante's Ferry (M, P) The homestead of Antone Plante, a French-Canadian fur trapper, was the site of Issac Stevens's stormy council with the Spokanes and Couer D' Alenes in November of 1855. The site is now a popular day-use park located just to the east of Spokane city limits at 12308 E Upriver Drive.
Spokan Garry's Grave (M) The grave of this influential Spokane Indian chief is in Greenwood Cemetery, 211 N Government Way, Spokane.
Spokane Council (Latah Creek Council) (M) The site of Wright's 1858 council with the defeated Spokanes is marked by a monument, northeast of the town of Spangle, some 30 miles south of Spokane. The hanging of Qualchin and four Palouse Indians here after the council gave nearby Latah Creek its other name: Hangman's Creek. Proceed 4 miles east of Spangle on the Spangle-Waverly Road, turn east on North Kentuck Trail for two miles. Take the left fork in the road for 1 more mile turn left on dirt access road after crossing the creek.
Spokane House (M, SP, B, I) Established by the Northwest Fur Company in 1810 as a trading post in the region. Governor Stevens camped and conferred with the Indians in 1853. It is also the final resting place of Jacco Finlay, one of the founders of Spokane House; Finlay is also the only person to be buried in a Washington State Park. It is located on Nine Mile Road (Hwy 291), 1/2 mile north of Charles Road.
Spokane Plains Battlefield (M, SP) The running battle of September 5, 1858, began near the site now occupied by a state historical marker, 10 miles west of Spokane on U.S. Hwy 2, and continued east across the plains until the evening. The soldiers camped that night at the site now occupied by two colleges and an old Army post, Fort George Wright (1898-1941). Another marker is there, next to Fort George Wright Drive in Spokane.
St. Paul's Mission and Ft. Colville (HBC), (M, B, P, SP) The site of the Hudson's Bay trading post (1827-1866) is now under the waters of Lake Roosevelt. Directly above, on the bluffs above the river, is St. Paul's Mission State Park, where an original building is being restored. The park is located 3 miles west of Kettle Falls on U.S. Hwy 395. The U.S. Army post of Ft. Colville (1859-1882) was built further east near the present day city of Colville. Only a marker exists at the site on the north side of State Hwy 20, 3 miles east of the city (one mile east on Highway 20 and 2 miles north on Aladdin Road).
Steptoe's Battlefield (Battle of Tohotomine) (M, P, SP) This was one of the U.S. Army's more dramatic defeats by the American Indians. The ridge top where the soldiers were besieged after the running battle along Tohotomine (now Pine) Creek of May 17, 1858, is marked with a memorial shaft in a small state park. The park is in the town of Rosalia, which is 38 miles south of Spokane on U.S. Hwy 195 (South end of town off of Seventh Street).
The Yakima Valley
Fort Simcoe (B, P, I, SP) Built in the center of the Yakama Indian reservation by Major Robert Garnett in 1856, Fort Simcoe was an active military post for only three years. The Yakama Indian Agency then used the post's buildings for the next several decades. Today, the remaining buildings have been restored by the Washington State Park Department. The site of Haller's Defeat in October 1855, is visible from the fort, just to the southeast on the ridges above Toppenish Creek, but inaccessible to the public. Fort Simcoe is 5 miles west of the town of White Swan at the end of State Hwy 220. (Fort Simcoe is also the final resting place for Nathan Olney who was, among other jobs, the Oregon agent for Indian Affairs .)
Naches Basket Fort (P, M) The site of Wright's supply camp during the spring and summer of 1856 was mentioned in several soldier's reminiscences as being near some Indian petroglyphs on the Naches River (Those petroglyphs today are in the Yakima Painted Rocks State Park (SP), 5 miles west of Yakima on U.S. Hwy 12). The fort is located about 10 miles from Yakima on U.S. Hwy 12.
Satus Creek Battlefield (M) This small skirmish between the Oregon volunteers and the Yakamas in April of 1856 is commemorated by a small monument in downtown Toppenish. The actual battle site is some 15 miles to the southwest along the lower reaches of Satus Creek before it reaches the Yakima River near the town of Satus.
St. Joseph's Mission (M, B) This was the area that the Yakama chief Kamiakin lived until 1856. The mission was burned by volunteer troops in the fall of 1855. It has since been rebuilt and is still in use today. The mission is located 14 miles west of Union Gap on Ahtanum Road. Others missions that were burnt by volunteer soldiers were St. Rose (Frenchtown), near Walla Walla, and Immaculate Conception near Ellensburg.
Union Gap Battlefield (Two Buttes) (M) This skirmish was fought by the soldiers under the command of Major Gabriel Rains in November 1855, along the sides of the gap in the Ahtanum Hills, through which the Yakima River flows. Twin monuments are along the southbound lanes of US 97, 2.5 miles south of the town of Union Gap.
Upper Yakima Battlefield (X) The site of the only skirmish during Garnett's 1858 campaign is unmarked, but probably occurred somewhere in the vicinity of the town of Cle Elum.
•