Near the south edge of the fort's grounds, the Quartermaster Stable is the second building one will encounter upon entering the site. On the road leading into the fort is a large white painted archway. Shortly after passing through the archway one will come upon the large wood frame stable which is about 200 feet to the south of the road. A walking trail leads to the stable from the road. Built in 1884 as part of the original Fort Spokane complex, the 34' x l62' structure was used for stables and storage by the U.S. Army and subsequently as part of the agricultural curriculum of the Indian Agency School Definitely. The largest building which remains, the stable may have been the largest building built at the fort. Each of the extant buildings has a historical marker relating a small portion of the building's story. Text from this building's marker is further below.
Built in 1880, Fort Spokane served as a frontier military post until the troops were transferred to Cuba to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898. Government officials who ran the Colville and Spokane Indian Agencies then took over the fort and by 1900 it became the Fort Spokane Indian Boarding School. Teachers, clergy and Indian children came to live here. The last people to occupy the fort were the doctors, nurses and patients of the Tuberculosis Hospital and Sanitarium that served the tribes of the area starting in 1910 until Fort Spokane's final closure in 1929.
Fort Spokane was transferred to the National Park Service in 1960, and major restoration began on the four remaining original buildings: the Quartermaster Stable, built in 1884, the Powder Magazine, built in 1888, the Reservoir, built in 1889, and the Guardhouse, built in 1892.
The Guardhouse now serves as the visitor center and museum. The other three buildings are open to visitors from May through September. The grounds are open to explore year round. The reservoir, though restored, is outside of the boundary of the district as it lies on private property.
The Quartermaster Stable
Teams of mules hauled military hardware sixty miles over rough road from the Northern Pacific Railroad at Sprague. In 1880 this was considered a good system of transportation and supply.
This stable could house fifty-eight mules. One hundred tons of loose hay could be stored in the loft, where the cupolas circulated air to reduce molding and danger of fire.