Spangle, Washington — Spokane Got Closer Without Moving

Spangle once benefited from being far enough from Spokane that farm families needed a town of their own for ordinary errands.

Rail service, grain facilities, stores and schools served wheat and livestock country south of the city. Distance created a local economy because a trip to Spokane consumed real time.

U.S. 195 and the automobile changed that arithmetic. Farm machinery grew larger, acreage consolidated and Spokane became an easy drive for work, shopping and services.

Spangle remained incorporated and agricultural, but some of the commercial reason for its earlier scale evaporated. Spokane never moved south. Transportation simply taught the distance to behave differently.