This interpretive center, 9.5 miles northwest of Spokane on Hwy 291, is housed in a fort from the earliest permanent non–Native American settlement established in Washington. It displays information about the historic fur trade and the commercial and cultural relationships between settlers and the Spokane Indians who lived here.
Fur trader David Thompson of the North West Company built the trading post in 1810 just north of Nine Mile Falls, beyond the Centennial Trail's northern endpoint. Nearby, you can explore one of Thompson's trapping routes at the Little Spokane River Natural Area. A 3.6-mile hiking and cross-country-skiing trail through the protected wetland begins about half a mile beyond Spokane House along Hwy 291. Great blue herons nest in the cottonwoods and Native American pictographs can be found at Indian Painted Rocks. The area is perhaps best appreciated in a kayak.
