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The
Railroad Hamlet of Gray |
Gray: Trains and Clover
Gray was founded in 1901 and named after W.C. Gray, who owned one of the
largest farms in the area. Mr. and Mrs. Gray traveled to Washington
Territory in 1878. They were successful hotel owners in Spokane and
later purchased a large ranch. Gray’s Siding was the original name
because it was a railroad stop, later it was shortened to Gray. Most of
the residents of Gray were farmers who grew timothy hay, alfalfa and
clover. Mr. Reed owned a sawmill. W.S. Rose was the blacksmith and owned
also owned a hearse. |
| The
Successful Grays
Mr. and Mrs. Gray and her two brothers were
the 10th family to settle in Spokane Falls, now Spokane. They
came by covered wagon from Walla Walla. It took six days. The wagon was
loaded with supplies to build a small country hotel. They built their
hotel on the corner of Trent and Howard. Since they came from
California, the hotel was named the California House. It had eight rooms
on the second floor. They ran the hotel making constant improvements
until it had 102 rooms. The California House was considered the
"only first-class building of its kind in the city and drew many
celebrities passing through."
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