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Seven Frontier Women
and the Founding of Spokane Falls by Barbara F. Cochran Edited by Suzanne and Tony Bamonte Hardcover (7" x 10"), 304 pages, 154 photo illustrations, index, published in 2011 ISBN: 978-0-9821529-2-8 |
Now only $19.95 plus handling charge Washington State residents pay
9% sales tax |
Although the experiences of the seven women featured in this book were uniquely forged by their respective circumstances, they shared a common trait. They were absolutely intrepid. Each witnessed the settling of the western frontier from her own personal vantage point and faced the unknown and the inherent hardships with fierce determination. Alongside their challenges and triumphs in forging new paths for others to follow, they all experienced loneliness and the heartbreak of leaving behind a familiar and comfortable way of life.
The stories are many and varied. Anna Browne, whose marriage to J. J. Browne was a true love story, knew the challenges of nursing a baby through their first winter in Spokane on bread soaked in warm water or weak tea. Susan Glover, first wife of the father of Spokane, left a loving extended family to help pioneer the new town of Spokane Falls. Yet years later, suffering from depression, her former husband participated in having her locked away in a mental hospital, where she remained until her death 22 years later. All but forgotten, the "First Lady of Spokane Falls" was buried in the hospital's cemetery with only a number etched on a small concrete brick marking her grave. Mary Latham was lauded as Spokane's first woman doctor, but became a fugitive from the law when mental problems began tearing at her underpinnings. Despite believing a woman's place was in the home, Alice Houghton assumed a high profile as Spokane's first female real estate agent. Assisting her husband in search of possible railroad routes to the West, Carrie Adell Strahorn traversed thousands of miles, crisscrossing the unsettled western frontier. This was unheard of for a woman of her time and, after settling in Spokane, she wrote a bestselling book about their perilous travels.
About the Author:
Barbara F. Cochran was a lifetime Washington resident, having been born in Vancouver, Wash., in December 1922. After graduating from high school in Vancouver in 1940, she attended Washington State College (now Washington State University) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech in 1944. A year later she received a Master of Arts in Speech Therapy from the University of Wisconsin. She married her husband, Joseph A. Cochran, in the summer of 1945. Two years later they moved to Spokane, where they raised a family of four children. Her interest in the history of the Spokane area led her to write Exploring Spokane's Past, Tours to Historical Sites (Ye Galleon Press, 1979). She then began working on this book, completing the manuscript just months prior to her death in 1987 in Spokane.
The stories are many and varied. Anna Browne, whose marriage to J. J. Browne was a true love story, knew the challenges of nursing a baby through their first winter in Spokane on bread soaked in warm water or weak tea. Susan Glover, first wife of the father of Spokane, left a loving extended family to help pioneer the new town of Spokane Falls. Yet years later, suffering from depression, her former husband participated in having her locked away in a mental hospital, where she remained until her death 22 years later. All but forgotten, the "First Lady of Spokane Falls" was buried in the hospital's cemetery with only a number etched on a small concrete brick marking her grave. Mary Latham was lauded as Spokane's first woman doctor, but became a fugitive from the law when mental problems began tearing at her underpinnings. Despite believing a woman's place was in the home, Alice Houghton assumed a high profile as Spokane's first female real estate agent. Assisting her husband in search of possible railroad routes to the West, Carrie Adell Strahorn traversed thousands of miles, crisscrossing the unsettled western frontier. This was unheard of for a woman of her time and, after settling in Spokane, she wrote a bestselling book about their perilous travels.
About the Author:
Barbara F. Cochran was a lifetime Washington resident, having been born in Vancouver, Wash., in December 1922. After graduating from high school in Vancouver in 1940, she attended Washington State College (now Washington State University) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech in 1944. A year later she received a Master of Arts in Speech Therapy from the University of Wisconsin. She married her husband, Joseph A. Cochran, in the summer of 1945. Two years later they moved to Spokane, where they raised a family of four children. Her interest in the history of the Spokane area led her to write Exploring Spokane's Past, Tours to Historical Sites (Ye Galleon Press, 1979). She then began working on this book, completing the manuscript just months prior to her death in 1987 in Spokane.