More on Ben Burr, the Mullan Road and Moran Prairie

I thought I would include a few more photos from recent walks around Moran Prairie. See the earlier post on the Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad for more context. 

I realized in that previous post I mentioned the Mullan Road but then didn't provide any more information. It was a military road constructed between 1859 and 1862 which connected Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia River in what is now Washington to Fort Benton on the Missouri River in what is now Montana, a distance of 611 miles. This was the first road across the Rocky Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. And 'road' at this time in history really meant a pathway, clearly marked, with trees removed and adequate stream and and river crossings in place. It was used as a military road for only a few years but continued to be used by civilians for many additional years until more modern roads and railroads were built. Some sections of the Mullan Road have been preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, other sections have been replaced by modern roads such as I-90, and many other sections have just faded away due to 150 years of farming and other land uses.

The Mullan Road passage through Moran Prairie provided the easiest and most direct route between a crossing of Latah Creek and a crossing of the Spokane River at a point known as Plante's Ferry. The exact placement of the road through Moran Prairie is unsure but it probably went right down the middle, as there is a natural low area between higher land on the east and the west. There are two Mullan Road historic markers (which today are themselves historic given their age) that were placed on the prairie in 1922; one of these is just about 300 feet southeast of Moran Station.

The 1908 barn on the YMCA property with a view of Mt. Spokane in the background. Picture is taken from the Ben Burr Pathway. The Mullan Road likely passed through here.

The Ben Burr Pathway where it passes through a railroad cut, about 8–10 feet deep.

Another view of the 1908 barn with Browne's Mountain the background and a pile of cobbles built up next to the pathway, likely the displacement from the cut. The Mullan Road ran somewhere between where I am standing and the mountain, probably down the middle of the valley between me and the barn, which is a natural drainage that flows north toward the Spokane River.

A Mullan Road marker placed in 1922 along the Palouse Highway just south of 57th Street. A year ago this was nearly hidden from view by overgrown bushes on the side of the road, but due to construction of a new gas station and convenience store, the land was cleared and a new sidewalk was installed that respectfully curves around the back side of the marker. The plaque indicates the road was built 1858–1862 but historians know that construction actually started on July 1, 1859. It would be nice if we could fix something like this, but as the marker itself is now historic, that error will be preserved indefinitely.

I walked over to Ben Burr Park (now that I know where it is) and was greeted by this very cool looking two-dimensional locomotive sculpture. It's a bit odd that they chose a steam locomotive given that the S&IE was an electric line. Perhaps the artist wasn't sure how to create an electric motor car? Everyone is an art critic.

A detail of the plaque indicates that Ben Burr 'represented' the Great Northern, but that doesn't seem right to me as he was retired at this time and therefore he was representing the people of Spokane and trying to convince his former employer to give the railroad right-of-way to the public. The plaque also mentions the land the park is on was right-of-way that belonged to the Great Northern, but I can't find any evidence of that. The park is four blocks east of the railroad's right-of-way. And looking at a 1912 plat map this land was privately owned by an individual. I looked at other historical maps and found no structures on what is now the park all the way up to the 1980s so it was likely in agricultural use. The City of Spokane purchased this 8.5 acre plot of land in 1991 and the park was opened in 1999. Perhaps I should have a career in correcting informational signage?

Another welcome sign on the corner of the park. I found no inaccuracies on this sign.

This is a detail of a 1952 USGS map that I looked at when tracing the history of the Ben Burr Park property, and I realized this might provide helpful context for the above photos. The rail line runs right down the middle and 1952 was the its last year of operation. The top arrow indicates where Ben Burr Park is located today to the east of Havana Street. The next arrow down shows the road cut. Just to the east of that, right next to the 2400' contour line, are the barn and another shed structure also built in 1908. Today's Ben Burr Pathway is the section of right-of-way between the second and third arrows. The third arrow shows where Moran Station was/is. The original passenger shelter was (and the modern bus shelter is) to the west of the track. This map shows the siding, the first time I've come across it, which I now see is to the east of the track. The last arrow in the lower-left indicates what was a surprise for me—I didn't realize my neighborhood used to have a landing strip! This helps explain why I've never come across any historic structures or older trees in the neighborhood except along Freya Street.