William C. Gray arrived in Spokane Falls, W.T. in 1878 from Redding, CA. In 1878-1879 he built and began to operate the California House, which became one of the city’s largest hotels. It burned in the fire of 1889. Gray was also interested in the development of railroads and mining, and made profitable investments in both railroad and mining stocks. He was a city council member in 1881.
The collection includes a small account book for the California House, which lists charges on guest accounts, occasional notes, and sometimes itemized billing for services or special meals. There are also records of one of Gray’s mining ventures, The Silver Crown, 1891-1916, including correspondence, legal records and agreements, and some financial documents.
Collection is not restricted.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Eastern Washington State Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Museum Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Eastern Washington State Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher
William C. Gray Papers (MsSC 217), Eastern Washington State Historical Society/Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, WA.
Donated by Jerome Peltier.
Nolan, Edward W.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) WorldCat database. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search WorldCat using these headings.