Spokane Valley, Washington
Encyclopedia
Spokane Valley is an incorporated city in Spokane County
, Washington, United States
. It is located east of Spokane
and west of Coeur d'Alene
. It surrounds the town of Millwood
on three sides. The city, the tenth largest in the state, had a population of 89,755 as of 2010.
began traveling through the area. They called these Indians the “Spokanes” which has been interpreted as meaning “Children of the Sun.” The Spokanes were a peaceful people, on friendly terms with neighboring tribes and later the fur traders and missionaries who came to the area. They fished salmon
, hunted game, and ate camassia
roots and berries they gathered.
Despite their many years of acceptance of the white settlers, and the calming
influence of Chief Garry
(sometimes Spokan Garry), the Spokanes protested the loss of their lands by joining in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The final battle, in 1858, culminated in the Spokane Valley with the destruction of over 800 of their horses, their food, and teepees. The Spokanes were eventually forced from the lands of their ancestors to a reservation north of the Spokane River, just east of the Spokane area.
The first permanent white settler in the Spokane Valley was a retired French-Canadian trapper, Antoine Plante, who built a small cabin near the Spokane River
in 1849. Plante ran a small Hudson's Bay Company
trading post in the home he shared with his American Indian wife and family. In 1850, Plante constructed and operated the first ferry across the Spokane River, the only means of crossing the river in the area. It was used for transportation across the river by Fort Colville
military personnel, U.S. Army surveyors, and miners traveling to western Montana
and southeastern British Columbia
.
In 1862, A. C. "Charley" Kendall established a store on the North side of the Spokane River. A bridge to cross the river at Kendall's store was soon built by Joe Herring, Timothy Lee, and Ned Jordan in 1864. A small community, known as Spokane Bridge, began to build up near the bridge. M. M. Cowley took over the holdings of Charley Kendall in 1872, including the bridge, a trading post and a log hotel.
Interestingly, the history of the settlement of the Spokane Valley predates the history of the city of Spokane, Washington
. Spokane Valley holds many of the “firsts” for the Spokane area. In addition to being home to the area’s first settler, Antoine Plante, the Spokane Valley had the first business and first ferry in 1850; the first store (1862) and bridge (1864); the first house (1866); and the first post office (1867). All these firsts occurred before the 1873 arrival of James N. Glover
, considered the founding father of Spokane.
Before the turn of the century, early pioneers, many of them silver miners, arrived from the East by way of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads, for which Spokane was a major hub. By 1883, the first transcontinental rail was established. The railroad activity created support for extensive shops and facilities. Within a few years, Spokane was tied to the outside world by five transcontinental railroads, making it the hub of commerce it remains today.
Irrigation
efforts stimulated population growth in the Spokane Valley significantly in the early part of the 20th century. Developers and real estate speculators tapped into nearby lakes, the Spokane River and the aquifer
lying under the valley in an effort to turn the dry land into saleable agricultural land. In 1899, the Spokane Valley Land and Water Co., later owned by long-time irrigation advocate D.C. Corbin, built a canal to irrigate land in the Greenacres area with water from Liberty Lake. In 1905, the Spokane Canal Company built a canal to irrigate the Otis Orchard area with water from Newman Lake, and Modern Irrigation and Land Company tapped into the underground aquifer to irrigate 3,000 acres (12 km²) in Opportunity
. Within just twenty years, 30,000 acres (120 km²) of dry land was converted into fertile farmland. Water access greatly increased land values. Valley population grew from 1,000 residents in 1900 to nearly 10,000 by 1922. Extensive apple orchards thrived in the gravelly soil of the Valley, and by 1912 nearly 2 million apple trees had been planted. A huge packing plant was built in 1911 by the Spokane Valley Growers Union.
With the exception of the incorporated Town of Millwood, Washington
, the Spokane Valley was developed as townships with no governmental functions. Most of the townships platted in the early 1900s were surveyed as a tool for promotion and sales, and remain as names for neighborhoods and post office designations today.
A few Spokane Valley townships were developed for residential and/or business purposes.
Trent was originally platted as a residential area for Northern Pacific railroad workers in 1881, Millwood began as a “company town”, developed by Inland Empire Paper Mill for their employees, and Dishman developed primarily as a business center. All other Valley townships were developed as irrigation districts and owe their existence to their agricultural roots. Between 1901 and 1915, the townships of Orchard Avenue, Greenacres, Otis Orchards, Opportunity
, Vera, Dishman, Liberty Lake, Newman Lake, East Spokane, Mica and Chester were platted.
The Spokane Valley was promoted as a wonderful place to live. Though most Valley residents were farmers or orchardists, canneries, brickyards, railroad maintenance facilities and lumber mills provided jobs for many. The beauty of the surrounding area, pleasant communities, fertile farmlands, business opportunities, outdoor sports and activities, local recreational areas and community organizations caused it to be
called “Spokane Valley, the Valley Bountiful”. As the population increased, small
communities with schools, churches, businesses, community clubs and organizations
thrived. Tied to Spokane, local lakes and Coeur d’Alene by railroads and bus systems, the people of the Valley enjoyed a full life.
In the years that followed, crop troubles and irrigation system maintenance problems prompted many residents to sell their farms in five, ten, or 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) plots for suburban home sites. Many of the apple trees were pulled out and replaced by neighborhoods and truck farms. The truck farms were successful in raising strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, watermelons, asparagus, squash, cucumbers and thousands of acres of Heart of Gold cantaloupes. Dairy, poultry and fur farms also
appeared in the Valley during these years.
While jobs were scarce during the Great Depression
, most people in the Spokane Valley had enough land to grow food for their families. The Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce adhered to a positive agenda throughout these hard times. They placed street signs on Valley roads and in an effort to show solidarity with Spokane, east-west roads were re-named to correspond with Spokane’s roads. Observing that fires were a constant and catastrophic problem for area residents, the Chamber lobbied to begin a fire protection district in the Valley. Their efforts were successful and Valley residents were first offered fire protection in 1940, with the formation of Spokane County Fire Protection District Number One.
The people of the valley always maintained independence from the City of Spokane on its borders. The first local newspaper, The Spokane Valley Herald, was launched in 1920. In 1919 an early municipal airfield was carved out, later named Felts Field in honor of Herald owner Buell Felts 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. Other than Millwood, which incorporated in 1927 and Liberty Lake, Washington
which did so in 2001, the Valley remained unincorporated throughout the 20th century.
Industry began to replace agriculture more rapidly after the completion of Grand Coulee Dam
in 1941, 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. 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 1950s, but the paper mill and aluminum plant remain.
In the 1950s a further transformation swept the valley as the post World War Two population boom began to push into the valley, replacing most of the remaining 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 1950s, 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. In the 1990s and the early part of the twenty-first century the Spokane Valley continued to grow more urban, becoming one of the fastest growing regions in the state. Commercial growth increased and joined residential growth as it moved towards the state line. The urban development included the opening of the long-awaited Spokane Valley Mall in 1997, the establishment of dozens of other businesses along business corridors, and the development of the Mirabeau Point community complex.
The City of Spokane Valley incorporated on March 31 of 2003, after being turned down in four previous referendum
s. 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 the City of Spokane Valley as an urban outgrowth of Spokane is very similar to the outgrowth of Sandy Springs, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Sandy Springs would itself incorporate on December 1, 2005, passing City of Spokane Valley for third place on the list of largest newly incorporated U.S. cities.
One interesting fact about the City of 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).
in which much of it is situated within the Inland Northwest (United States). Spokane Valley city proper consists of the communities of Dishman
, Greenacres
, Opportunity
, Trentwood
, Veradale
, Yardley, and parts of Chester and Otis Orchards
. According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 38.1 square miles (98.7 km²), of which, 37.8 square miles (97.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (0.79%) is water.
Because the City of Spokane Valley shares its name with the unincorporated area it was carved from, the term "Spokane Valley" is often used in reference to an area greater than that which falls within the city limits.
.
Spokane County, Washington
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after the Spokane tribe. As of the 2010 census the population was 471,221, making it the fourth most populous county in Washington state. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state,...
, Washington, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located east of Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
and west of Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Coeur d'Alene is the largest city and county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. Coeur d'Alene has the second largest metropolitan area in the state of Idaho. As of the 2010 census the population of Coeur...
. It surrounds the town of Millwood
Millwood, Washington
Millwood is a town in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,786 at the 2010 census. Millwood is a suburb of Spokane, Washington, and is surrounded on three sides by the city of Spokane Valley, Washington.-History:...
on three sides. The city, the tenth largest in the state, had a population of 89,755 as of 2010.
History
For thousands of years, the Spokane Valley area was populated by members of the Upper Band of the Interior Salish Indians, calling themselves “Sn-tutuul-i”, the meaning of which is not known. In about 1783, fur traders from the North West CompanyNorth West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
began traveling through the area. They called these Indians the “Spokanes” which has been interpreted as meaning “Children of the Sun.” The Spokanes were a peaceful people, on friendly terms with neighboring tribes and later the fur traders and missionaries who came to the area. They fished salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, hunted game, and ate camassia
Camassia
Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana...
roots and berries they gathered.
Despite their many years of acceptance of the white settlers, and the calming
influence of Chief Garry
Chief Garry
Spokane Garry was a Native American leader of the Middle Spokane tribe. He also acted as a liaison between white settlers and American Indian tribes in the area which is now eastern Washington state....
(sometimes Spokan Garry), the Spokanes protested the loss of their lands by joining in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The final battle, in 1858, culminated in the Spokane Valley with the destruction of over 800 of their horses, their food, and teepees. The Spokanes were eventually forced from the lands of their ancestors to a reservation north of the Spokane River, just east of the Spokane area.
The first permanent white settler in the Spokane Valley was a retired French-Canadian trapper, Antoine Plante, who built a small cabin near the Spokane River
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the city of Spokane, Washington.-Description:...
in 1849. Plante ran a small Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
trading post in the home he shared with his American Indian wife and family. In 1850, Plante constructed and operated the first ferry across the Spokane River, the only means of crossing the river in the area. It was used for transportation across the river by Fort Colville
Fort Colville
The trade center Fort Colville was built by the Hudson's Bay Company at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River, a few miles west of the present site of Colville, Washington in 1825, to replace Spokane House as a regional trading center, as the latter was deemed to be too far from the Columbia River...
military personnel, U.S. Army surveyors, and miners traveling to western Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and southeastern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
In 1862, A. C. "Charley" Kendall established a store on the North side of the Spokane River. A bridge to cross the river at Kendall's store was soon built by Joe Herring, Timothy Lee, and Ned Jordan in 1864. A small community, known as Spokane Bridge, began to build up near the bridge. M. M. Cowley took over the holdings of Charley Kendall in 1872, including the bridge, a trading post and a log hotel.
Interestingly, the history of the settlement of the Spokane Valley predates the history of the city of Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. Spokane Valley holds many of the “firsts” for the Spokane area. In addition to being home to the area’s first settler, Antoine Plante, the Spokane Valley had the first business and first ferry in 1850; the first store (1862) and bridge (1864); the first house (1866); and the first post office (1867). All these firsts occurred before the 1873 arrival of James N. Glover
James N. Glover
James Nettle Glover is considered the founding father of Spokane, Washington. In 1871 two squatters, James Downing and Seth Scranton, had built a sawmill at the south bank of the Spokane Falls on the Spokane River. Glover and his partner Jasper N...
, considered the founding father of Spokane.
Before the turn of the century, early pioneers, many of them silver miners, arrived from the East by way of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads, for which Spokane was a major hub. By 1883, the first transcontinental rail was established. The railroad activity created support for extensive shops and facilities. Within a few years, Spokane was tied to the outside world by five transcontinental railroads, making it the hub of commerce it remains today.
Irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
efforts stimulated population growth in the Spokane Valley significantly in the early part of the 20th century. Developers and real estate speculators tapped into nearby lakes, the Spokane River and the aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
lying under the valley in an effort to turn the dry land into saleable agricultural land. In 1899, the Spokane Valley Land and Water Co., later owned by long-time irrigation advocate D.C. Corbin, built a canal to irrigate land in the Greenacres area with water from Liberty Lake. In 1905, the Spokane Canal Company built a canal to irrigate the Otis Orchard area with water from Newman Lake, and Modern Irrigation and Land Company tapped into the underground aquifer to irrigate 3,000 acres (12 km²) in Opportunity
Opportunity, Washington
Opportunity is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,065 at the 2000 census. The area has been a city neighborhood of Spokane Valley since the city incorporated in 2003.-Geography:...
. Within just twenty years, 30,000 acres (120 km²) of dry land was converted into fertile farmland. Water access greatly increased land values. Valley population grew from 1,000 residents in 1900 to nearly 10,000 by 1922. Extensive apple orchards thrived in the gravelly soil of the Valley, and by 1912 nearly 2 million apple trees had been planted. A huge packing plant was built in 1911 by the Spokane Valley Growers Union.
With the exception of the incorporated Town of Millwood, Washington
Millwood, Washington
Millwood is a town in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,786 at the 2010 census. Millwood is a suburb of Spokane, Washington, and is surrounded on three sides by the city of Spokane Valley, Washington.-History:...
, the Spokane Valley was developed as townships with no governmental functions. Most of the townships platted in the early 1900s were surveyed as a tool for promotion and sales, and remain as names for neighborhoods and post office designations today.
A few Spokane Valley townships were developed for residential and/or business purposes.
Trent was originally platted as a residential area for Northern Pacific railroad workers in 1881, Millwood began as a “company town”, developed by Inland Empire Paper Mill for their employees, and Dishman developed primarily as a business center. All other Valley townships were developed as irrigation districts and owe their existence to their agricultural roots. Between 1901 and 1915, the townships of Orchard Avenue, Greenacres, Otis Orchards, Opportunity
Opportunity, Washington
Opportunity is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,065 at the 2000 census. The area has been a city neighborhood of Spokane Valley since the city incorporated in 2003.-Geography:...
, Vera, Dishman, Liberty Lake, Newman Lake, East Spokane, Mica and Chester were platted.
The Spokane Valley was promoted as a wonderful place to live. Though most Valley residents were farmers or orchardists, canneries, brickyards, railroad maintenance facilities and lumber mills provided jobs for many. The beauty of the surrounding area, pleasant communities, fertile farmlands, business opportunities, outdoor sports and activities, local recreational areas and community organizations caused it to be
called “Spokane Valley, the Valley Bountiful”. As the population increased, small
communities with schools, churches, businesses, community clubs and organizations
thrived. Tied to Spokane, local lakes and Coeur d’Alene by railroads and bus systems, the people of the Valley enjoyed a full life.
In the years that followed, crop troubles and irrigation system maintenance problems prompted many residents to sell their farms in five, ten, or 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) plots for suburban home sites. Many of the apple trees were pulled out and replaced by neighborhoods and truck farms. The truck farms were successful in raising strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, beans, peas, watermelons, asparagus, squash, cucumbers and thousands of acres of Heart of Gold cantaloupes. Dairy, poultry and fur farms also
appeared in the Valley during these years.
While jobs were scarce during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, most people in the Spokane Valley had enough land to grow food for their families. The Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce adhered to a positive agenda throughout these hard times. They placed street signs on Valley roads and in an effort to show solidarity with Spokane, east-west roads were re-named to correspond with Spokane’s roads. Observing that fires were a constant and catastrophic problem for area residents, the Chamber lobbied to begin a fire protection district in the Valley. Their efforts were successful and Valley residents were first offered fire protection in 1940, with the formation of Spokane County Fire Protection District Number One.
The people of the valley always maintained independence from the City of Spokane on its borders. The first local newspaper, The Spokane Valley Herald, was launched in 1920. In 1919 an early municipal airfield was carved out, later named Felts Field in honor of Herald owner Buell Felts 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. Other than Millwood, which incorporated in 1927 and Liberty Lake, Washington
Liberty Lake, Washington
Liberty Lake is an incorporated city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, on the Idaho state line. Liberty Lake is a suburb of Spokane, Washington. Thus, it is situated between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho...
which did so in 2001, the Valley remained unincorporated throughout the 20th century.
Industry began to replace agriculture more rapidly after the completion of Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
in 1941, 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. 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 1950s, but the paper mill and aluminum plant remain.
In the 1950s a further transformation swept the valley as the post World War Two population boom began to push into the valley, replacing most of the remaining 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 1950s, 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. In the 1990s and the early part of the twenty-first century the Spokane Valley continued to grow more urban, becoming one of the fastest growing regions in the state. Commercial growth increased and joined residential growth as it moved towards the state line. The urban development included the opening of the long-awaited Spokane Valley Mall in 1997, the establishment of dozens of other businesses along business corridors, and the development of the Mirabeau Point community complex.
The City of Spokane Valley incorporated on March 31 of 2003, after being turned down in four previous referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s. At its creation, it was the third-largest newly-incorporated city in US history (after Centennial, Colorado
Centennial, Colorado
The city of Centennial is a Home Rule City located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States, and part of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The city was to have a total population of 100,377 in 2010 census. Centennial is the tenth-most populous municipality in the state of Colorado and its...
, which incorporated in 2001; and Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
, which incorporated about five weeks before Spokane Valley).
The situation of the City of Spokane Valley as an urban outgrowth of Spokane is very similar to the outgrowth of Sandy Springs, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Sandy Springs would itself incorporate on December 1, 2005, passing City of Spokane Valley for third place on the list of largest newly incorporated U.S. cities.
One interesting fact about the City of 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
City of Spokane Valley is named after the valleyValley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
in which much of it is situated within the Inland Northwest (United States). Spokane Valley city proper consists of the communities of Dishman
Dishman, Washington
Dishman is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Founded by A.T. Dishman, who operated a nearby rock quarry, its population was 10,031 at the 2000 census...
, Greenacres
Green Acres, Washington
Green Acres is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. Green Acres is the spelling used officially by the Census Bureau, though the spelling Greenacres is more common locally. The population was 5,158 at the 2000 census and the population was 12,010 at the...
, Opportunity
Opportunity, Washington
Opportunity is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,065 at the 2000 census. The area has been a city neighborhood of Spokane Valley since the city incorporated in 2003.-Geography:...
, Trentwood
Trentwood, Washington
Trentwood is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,388 at the 2000 census. Trentwood has been part of the city of Spokane Valley since it incorporated in 2003.-Geography:...
, Veradale
Veradale, Washington
Veradale is a former census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,387 at the 2000 census. Since 2003, the area has been incorporated as part of the city of Spokane Valley.-Geography:...
, Yardley, and parts of Chester and Otis Orchards
Otis Orchards-East Farms, Washington
Otis Orchards-East Farms is a census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, United States, near the county's border with Idaho. The population was 6,220 at the 2010 census...
. According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 38.1 square miles (98.7 km²), of which, 37.8 square miles (97.9 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (0.79%) is water.
Because the City of Spokane Valley shares its name with the unincorporated area it was carved from, the term "Spokane Valley" is often used in reference to an area greater than that which falls within the city limits.
Spokane Valley Mall
This mall has 3 anchors and is owned by General Growth PropertiesGeneral Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...
.
Anchors
- J.C. PenneyJ.C. PenneyJ. C. Penney Company, Inc. is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. The company operates 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. JCPenney also operates catalog sales merchant offices nationwide in many...
- SearsSears, Roebuck and CompanySears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
- Macy's