Nine Mile Falls, Washington — Dam Erased the Falls and Powered the Streetcars

Nine Mile Falls is named for a waterfall that no longer exists in its original form.

Nine Mile Dam began generating electricity on the Spokane River in the early twentieth century.

Its power helped support the Spokane and Inland Empire electric railway system.

The reservoir simultaneously drowned the falls that had given the area its name.

A worker community developed around the powerhouse, and surviving company housing became part of the site's historic fabric.

Later residential growth spread across both Spokane and Stevens counties.

That creates a modern geographic wrinkle: Nine Mile Falls is a community name larger than a single municipal or county boundary.

The electricity helped streetcars move.

The dam made the waterfall stop.