In 1889, the territory of Washington officially declared statehood, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows the year the 42nd state entered the union.
The territory's four major cities each went up in flames in the summer of 1889: Seattle and Vancouver in June, Ellensburg in July, and Spokane — then called Spokane Falls — in August.
With Inland Northwest wildfires becoming a greater risk than ever, the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is hosting the exhibition "Fire: Rebirth and Resilience" through Sept. 28. The show details notable fires in the region and how fire and humans here have interacted since time immemorial.
Anna Harbine, the exhibit's curator and curator of archives and special collections at the MAC, has been working to bring this exhibit to life for over five years.
"Around 2019, there were fires in California, a big one in the Palouse, and we were having fires around [Spokane]," Harbine says. "People started to understand climate change and that wildfires were going to keep happening."
And they did. On Aug. 18, 2023, a red flag warning was issued for portions of Spokane County and Pend Oreille County. Around noon, a fire sparked in Medical Lake, and just four hours later, another fire began 50 miles away near Elk.
The two fires devastated both communities, each burning over 10,000 acres, destroying hundreds of structures and killing two people.
"Fires have always been happening in this region," Harbine says. "But not to this intensity or frequency as of late."
Initially, the exhibit was only meant to touch on Spokane's Great Fire of 1889, as the museum has collected dozens of new items related to the fire since the last exhibition held for the conflagration's 100th anniversary in 1989.
"Then there had been these moments where history was really rhyming with itself," Harbine says. "With Malden and Pine City burning to the ground in 2020 and, of course, the Gray and Oregon fires, we decided to incorporate those into the show as well."
Museum frequenters will be familiar with the two galleries on the lefthand side through the MAC's main gallery entrance, typically boasting two different exhibits at any given time.
Now, they're working together to tell a story.
The far gallery contains the "rebirth" portion of the exhibit, featuring found artifacts from the Great Fire of 1889 that destroyed most of Spokane's downtown after a small lodging house and restaurant caught fire on Railroad Avenue (now the alley that runs between First and Second avenues).
"I think people don't really know the timeline of Spokane," Harbine says. "It was this really fast-paced, growing city. There was such rapid growth in the late 1800s, and then fast-forward 20 years and you have a city that's massive and on track for even more growth."
The gallery features several tapestries of historic photographs hanging from the ceiling and on the wall. Harbine says she wanted to make people feel as if they were among the ruins of the Great Fire.
Artifacts recovered from the time of the fire include diaries, letters, melted pottery and more. There's even a printing press next to a photo of the Spokane Chronicle staff operating out of a tent, famously not missing an issue even though the building they operated out of had burned down.
Along the wall, visitors will see maps of Spokane's downtown core in 1889 and can trace the route someone would've needed to take from where the fire started to the switch that activated the water pump system installed for fire suppression in the early 1880s, located at the Washington Water Power building. (Google Maps says it would be a 15-minute walk.) Other statistics, such as population before and after the fire, are displayed as well.
In the back right corner of the gallery, patrons can listen to an oral history from a witness of the fire, recorded in 1956, set to a slideshow of a selection of the 182 photos of the fire the museum has in its archives.
Meanwhile the "resilience" gallery shows just that: how the community has adapted and learned to live with the threat of urban fires and wildfires.
"Fire is both something that creates and something that destroys," Harbine says. "Yes, fires are devastating, but the resilience portion of the exhibition showcases how communities rallied together to create hope for one another."
Rather than being filled with artifacts like the opposing gallery, the room is lined with photos depicting modern devastation in the region.
On the right, visitors will see multiple photos from the recent fires. One shows flames from the 2023 Gray Fire engulfing a home near the Medical Lake waterfront, another captures a local firefighter spraying water from a firehose to defeat the blaze.
Pamphlets featuring Smokey Bear as well as advertisements and toys about fire safety showcase how, from an early age, the world is preparing children to live with fire. From the singular candle atop their first birthday cake to catastrophic wildfires that may endanger their homes, fire is an inevitable part of the lives of young people.
Like the recording in the "rebirth" section of the exhibition, this gallery contains stories from those impacted by recent ruinous fires in some way, next to photos of homes burned to rubble and even artworks created by local artists in response to the blazes.
Transcripts of oral histories and interviews with those impacted are displayed on the gallery's walls and will forever remain part of the MAC's archives. Someday, when humanity's relationship with fire changes once more, their words will be historical accounts rather than modern-day tales of rebirth and recovery.
"I never really thought fire directly affected me," Harbine says. "But, putting together this exhibit made me realize that, whether they know it or not, everyone knows someone who has been affected by fire." ♦
Fire: Rebirth and Resilience • Tue-Sun from 10 am-5 pm through Sept. 28 • $9-$15 • Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture • 2316 W. First Ave. • northwestmuseum.org
