This provided a strong economic base for the community and was the result of a much larger event that took place in the United States.

In the latter part of that decade, settlers attracted by plentiful water and timber and the promise of a railway line made their homes near a group of springs bubbling through a willow copse from the bank where the Burlington Northern depot now stands.

The name of the community, originally Section Thirteen, became Willow Springs, then became Depot Springs, because of its ties to the railroad, then Billings, in honor of a president of the Northern Pacific Company, and finally Cheney, Washington in honor of Benjamin P. Cheney, a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The railroad tracks were not in a true east-west line, however, so the original town is askew with the map; the newer part of Cheney was built more to the compass.

Cheney received a majority of the votes, but due to alleged irregularities at the polls, the election was won by Spokane Falls.

On a night when most of the residents of Spokane Falls were at a gala wedding celebration, a delegation of armed "Cheneyites" invaded Auditor's office and took possession of the books, conducted their ballot recount which showed Cheney as the victor, and made off into the darkness with the records.

The fierce determination of Cheney to build and promote its college was largely to regain its lost prestige over the county seat.

The growth of the Cheney Normal School and the transformation of the frontier land into a thriving community were the basis for the changing attitudes in this area.

All of the energies that were once focused on making the West home for their families were transformed into creating a vision of preferred lifestyle choices for the youth.

The town is built on rolling Palouse hills overlooking Channeled Scablands carved out by the pre-historic Missoula Floods to the south and east.

[7] Nearby cities and towns Cheney is located on the edge of the semi-arid region leading up to the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains, where the summers are hot and dry, and winters are cold, wet, and windy.

Located approximately four blocks from the EWU campus, Historic Downtown Cheney offers a traditional mix of retail and service businesses as well as government offices.

In 1999, Eastern Washington University, the City of Cheney, and the downtown business community formed a university/community partnership called "Pathways to Progress."

Pathways to Progress quickly adopted the tenets and principles of the Main Street approach to downtown revitalization, formed a board of directors, and began the process of becoming a 501c(3) nonprofit corporation.

Additionally, Pathways facilitated talks between EWU and a private developer that led to the construction of Brewster Hall, a mixed-use student residence in the downtown core.

Downtown Cheney has since evolved into a more traditional "university district", hosting numerous community festivals, a farmers' market, and businesses catering to the college crowd.

Volunteers open the museum at various times by season and by appointment as well as engage in research and preserving and caring for the collection.

Today, Fairchild's aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force's airborne refueling tanker fleet on the West Coast.

Fairchild's location north of Cheney and 12 miles (19 km) west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington.

The War Department chose Spokane for several reasons: better weather conditions, the location 300 miles (480 km) from the coast, and the Cascade Range providing a natural barrier against possible Japanese attacks.

The SERE school at Fairchild AFB is intended to train aircrews, special forces, and other service members who operate in dangerous areas and are thus more likely to be captured.

Cheney has its distinctive economic characteristics, but its fortunes and growth are tightly linked to the greater economy of the Inland Northwest.

[13] Cheney Rodeo Days is held the second weekend in July each year and has been a major annual event for the community since 1967.

Located in downtown Cheney, the annual Market provides a wide variety of regionally grown and prepared products and produce pieces from local artisans, and handcrafted goods.

[15] Cheney is home to the Eastern Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives, which provides archival and records management services to local government agencies throughout Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla and Whitman counties in the state of Washington.

Collections span the years from the territorial period to the present and include school census records, tax assessment rolls, court dockets and case files, photographs, maps, plats, and engineering drawings.

Currently, there are seven public parks inside the city limits with land set aside for the addition of two more soon to accommodate Cheney's substantial recent growth.

These programs and activities are administered by a coalition made up of the city and county government agencies and local non-profit organizations.

The activities in these programs range from basketball, baseball, softball gymnastics, karate, day camps, and arts & crafts for youth and children to adult sports leagues and educational and field trips for senior citizens, along with a summer concert and movie series that is held at Sutton Park.

It was increasingly evident that the region needed professionals in many fields; in response, Eastern added a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs.