Spokane

Formed October 30, 1879 (25^th county)

Spokane County (471,221), Spokane (208,916)

The French Renaissance tan brick structure was constructed in 1895.  The facility is at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Madison Street.  United States Highway 2 passes 10 blocks to the east of the courthouse.  Willis A. Ritchie is the architect.  It features a tower.  An Annex was built in 1955 and a Juvenile Courthouse in 1940.  A 1999 District Courthouse in Spokane Valley augments the courthouse.  The county was organized on October 30, 1879 from Stevens County as the 25^th county and Spokane has always been the county seat.  Spokane County and its county seat are named for the Native American tribe.  Spokane County is the birthplace of 1 Washington Governor, Clarence D. Martin. 

Spokane County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Eleven Superior Court Judges and Seven District Court Judges serve Spokane County.  The county is on the eastern border with Idaho.  Seattle, Washington is west and Boise, Idaho is southeast of the county.  The county center is in Spokane 1.7 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Pend Oreille County and Idaho and Whitman, Lincoln, and Stevens counties. 

The area of the county is 1781 square miles.  It is 22 out of 39 in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 39 in population in the state.  It has a density of 264.58 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 39 in the state.  Spokane County has 71.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 90 enters the county from the east, Idaho, and exits to the southwest, Lincoln County.  United States Highway 2 comes in from Pend Oreille County, north, and goes to Lincoln County, west.  United States Highway 195 originates and travels south into Whitman County.  United States Highway 395 enters from the Stevens County, northwest, and joins Interstate Highway 90 into Lincoln County, southwest.  The county is shaped like a fat capital letter J.  The City of Spokane is near the center of the county.  Spokane is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.3% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced SPO-KAN.  This county is in the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Waverly