Spokane is located in the Northwestern portion the United States in the state of Washington. As the second largest city in Washington State, Spokane is the epicenter of business activity for the three state, two province region known as the Inland Northwest, according to the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site.

In 1810 Canadian David Thompson explored the Spokane area and began European settlement with the westward expansion and establishment of the North West Company’s Spokane House. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington and the hub of the fur trade between the Rockies and the Cascades for 16 years. The city of Spokane (then known as "Spokan Falls") was settled in 1871 and officially incorporated as a city in 1881. The city's name derived from the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun" in Salish. Spokane's official nickname is the "Lilac City", named after the flowers that have flourished since their introduction to the area in the early 20th century.

The first humans to live in the Spokane area arrived between twelve to eight thousand years ago and were hunter-gatherer societies that lived off the plentiful game in the area. Over time the forests in the area began to thin out and the Native Americans became more dependent upon roots, berries and fish.

The Inland Northwest was first explored by Canadian explorer and geographer David Thompson, working as head of the North West Company's Columbia Department. Crossing what is now the U.S.–Canadian border from British Columbia, Thompson wanted to expand the North West Company further south in search of furs. In 1810, Thompson sent out trappers, Jacques Raphael Finlay and Finan McDonald to the Spokane River to build a trading post in eastern Washington that would exchange with the local Spokane and Colville Indians.

The joint American–British occupation of Oregon Country, in effect since the Treaty of 1818, ended with the signing of the Oregon Treaty in 1846. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to the Oregon Country. In 1871, the first American settlers, squatters J.J. Downing and S.R. Scranton, built a cabin and established a claim at Spokane Falls. James N. Glover and Jasper Matheney, Oregonians passing through the area in 1873, saw the value of the Spokane River and its falls. They realized the investment potential and bought the claims of 160 acres and the sawmill from Downing and Scranton for a total of $4,000.

On October 21, 1880, Camp Spokane was established by U.S. Army troops under Lt. Col. Henry Clay Merriam at the junction of the Columbia and Spokane Rivers. The camp location was strategic, having the intended goals of protecting construction of the Northern Pacific Railway and securing a place for U.S. settlement.