Whiskey Rock near Sprague, WA
N 47° 18.874 W 117° 58.437
11T E 426390 N 5240581
This sign provides the history of this area and this rock.
Waymark Code: WM9X8J
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 10/09/2010
Views: 12
The sign reads:
"In the early 1890's, while the Northern Pacific Railroad was still being built, the railroad wouldn't allow any sale of spirits within a mile of the right of way. Two enterprising gents, E.M. Kinnear and Pat Wallace by name, opened a saloon adjacent to the nearby basalt mound. When construction of the railroad was completed this restriction was removed and the "Whiskey Rock" saloon went out of business. In it's heyday the new Town of Spraque boasted thirteen saloons, each paying $1,000 license fee to the town coffers. Southeastern Lincoln County Historical Society."
This historical sign is listed on the State register, here:
(Inventory Item 1153)
(
visit link)
From the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Washington State Parks, PO Box 1128, Olympia WA 98504:
Description:
The railroad construction saloon located at Whiskey Rock in the 1880's was a crude temporary structure.
Significance:
During the construction of the Ainsworth division of the Northern Pacific Railroad, company policy forbade the operation of a saloon within one mile of the tracks. Consequently, liquor vendors set up shop at Whiskey Rock, which was exactly one mile away from the railroad's division headquarters in Sprague.