Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Spokane in 1940.


Having this wonderful postcard of Spokane in the 1940s, I got to thinking. What was Spokane like in the 1940s?? These were the war years and Spokane benefited greatly from helping in the war effort:

During World War II, Spokane was home to the Velox Naval Supply Depot, the massive Galena Army Air Corps supply and repair depot (later Fairchild AFB), Geiger Field, Fort George Wright, and the Baxter Army Hospital. In addition, two federally owned aluminum plants at suburban Mead and Trentwood proved crucial to the war effort. Some 15,000 Spokane residents served in the armed forces and many were employed in war-related industries.
(www.historylink.org)

Population of Spokane in 1930 was - 128, 795
Population of Spokane in 1940 was - 141,370
Population of Spokane in 1950 was - 161,721

So you see that our Lilac City had a manageable growth rate during these war years. Did your ancestors live in the area then??

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