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. Definitely the largest building which remains, the stable may have been the largest building built at the fort. A full description of the 1884 Quartermaster Stable, from the NRHP Inventory Sheet, is below. The inventory sheets for extant buildings include photos, architectural drawings and maps.
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.
Guardhouse
Built in 1892 by the U.S. Army as part of the complex of 45 structures constructed by the Army beginning in 1880 near the confluence of the Columbia and Spokane rivers. The purpose of the fort was to keep the peace between the Indian reservations to the north and the influx of settlers into the upper Columbia basin. After the Army withdrew in 1898, the complex was adapted for use as, first, an Indian agency school, and, second, an Indian agency sanitorium
and hospital; the guardhouse was adapted for use as a bathhouse and sewing rooms. From 1930-60 most of the surrounding structures were dismantled or relocated and the surrounding land cultivated or used for pasture. NPS took over in 1960 and has rehabilitated the guardhouse for use as a visitor center.
One of five remaining intact structures from the original fort complex, the guardhouse is one of the key features anchoring the historic district. Despite some remodeling for adaptive reuse,
the structure retains its essential architectural features and is considered to be a contributing element of the historic district.
From the NRHP Inventory Sheet