In November of 1880 there was an election to see where the county seat of Spokane county should be located, Spokane Falls or Cheney. Cheney won, but the people of Spokane Falls called for a recount and threw out some questionable ballots. Spokane Falls won the recount by 4 votes. On March 21, 1881 armed men from Cheney came to the courthouse and kidnapped the auditor and moved the records to Cheney where they stayed till 1886 when a new election was a landslide for Spokane Falls. Spokane Falls dropped the Falls in the 1890s to just become Spokane.
There is a larger story on History Link on the Cheney-Spokane Falls county seat dispute.
They also talk about getting away through a gorge, and today the Spokane Library sits on the fill that Spokane used to fill in that gorge that was there in 1880.
Fascinating story!
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