Long before the City of Tekoa came to be, the place it now occupies was covered extensively with what is called bunch grass. Springing up from the unusually fertile soil, it fed the deer, elk and other wild animals that roamed the rolling hills of what is now called the Palouse. Long before the first white settlers came to Tekoa, the area was part of what was known then as the Great Oregon Country, so named by Captain Robert Gray. It was generally explored in certain areas by Lewis and Clark, David Thompson, Father DeSmet and Ross Cox. Father DeSmet later established the Sacred Heart Mission on the Coeur d' Alene river at what is now Cataldo, Idaho, in 1847. The Mission was moved in 1877 to the fertile Hangman Creek Valley at what is now DeSmet, Idaho, where it is to this day (2000). The massive Oregon Territory was created in 1849 by the United States of America, and later, on March 2, 1853, the Territory of Washington was organized, created out of part of that former Oregon Territory, The Honorable Isaac Ingalls Stevens becoming it's first Governor. At that time, only a handful of white people were living east of the Cascade mountain range, owing in part to the Whitman massacre, thus immigration at that time to the area was limited. However, with the discovery of gold in Northern Idaho in 1861, a veritable flood of settlers moved to the region, traveling via the Columbia River and on up the Snake River to their eventual destinations. In 1870, James Allen Perkins built his log cabin at the junction of the North and South branches of the Palouse River, and founded the City of Colfax, which later became the seat of the future Whitman County government. It was so named after Marcus and Narcissa Whitman of the before mentioned massacre, and was created on November 29, 1871. In 1889, the State of Washington as it is today was formed out of part of the former Territory of Washington.
In 1875, F. P. Connell and his wife, Mary N. Welch and family (considered to be Tekoa's first white settlers) came to the area of what would later become The City of Tekoa, a part of the newly formed Whitman county. A former Union Army soldier in the Civil War, he had traveled to the West by ship via Cape Horn after the War, arriving in Portland, Oregon, where he became a reporter for the Oregonian newspaper, and where he met and married his bride, Mary. Moving east, they came to the Tekoa area and located a farm and trading post to the Native Americans about a mile northeast of the present City of Tekoa. Connell soon became widely known and was well respected by the Native Americans for his help on their behalf. Incidentally, his farm produced the first smoked meat to be shipped into Spokane. The Huffman brothers, George, David and Nathaniel, followed his lead, each establishing a homestead by Hangman Creek, which later were divided into city tracts and formed a part of the current site of modern day Tekoa. As other settlers arrived in the area, this booming settlement was named Fork of the Creek. In 1883, the Truax brothers established a saw mill on the west bank of Hangman Creek. In 1884, John McDonald, a railroad land agent, began buying right of ways for the soon to be coming railroad. Then came the moment when the growing community would receive it's final name. The infant community wanted a Post Office of it's own, and Fork of the Creek just didn't seem suitable to appear on the postal seal. Mrs. Dan Truax, standing on the porch of her house on the west bank of Hangman Creek, looked at the large number of tents in the city, temporary shelters for the railroad workers and others. She suggested to her husband that they accept the counsel of Amos in the Bible and call the community Tekoa, from the Hebrew word meaning "city of tents", which was about all that Tekoa was at the time. And so the name stuck. In time, the tents were replaced by permanent wood frame buildings, and later, because of several fires in town, many wood buildings were replaced by brick ones, some of which stand to this day. The town was finally incorporated as The City of Tekoa on March 30, 1889, S. E. Coffin serving as Chairman of it's Board of Trustees, and therefore as it's first mayor, John Marsh serving as the first town Marshal, and D. W. "Uncle Dan" Truax as its first Police Judge. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Historic Pictures of Tekoa
Bakery, Cigar and Vaiety Stores
Bakery, Cigar and Variety Stores
A cigar store (second from left), the Tekoa Variety Store (second from right) and the Tekoa Bakery (right). Note the beautiful painting on the Bakery's facade, and the cloth awnings.
Grocery store and delivery wagon
GROCERY STORE AND DELIVERY WAGON
Delivering groceries via horse drawn wagon. Note the wood sidewalks and unpaved street.
Tekoa Mercantile and Warehouse
THE TEKOA MERCANTILE AND WAREHOUSE
Carrying a load of sacked grain to or from the building, this early "24 hoofer" counterpart of the modern day "18 wheeler" stops out front. An interesting note, many drivers of modern day trucks belong to a union called The Teamsters. A teamster was a man who drove a "team" of horses, like the ones yoked together in this picture.
The Livery Stable
TRUAX & WARWICK LIVERY & FEED STABLE
In the days before the automobile, a livery was a place where folks in town could stable the horses they used to get around on. Feed for animals was also available here. This is the oldest photo of the entire Tekoa collection, taken in 1888, a year before the State of Washington even existed. The people in this photo were therefore residents of the Oregon Territory. The Empire Theater now stands on this property.
The Connells, Tekoa's first family
THE CONNELL FAMILY
Tekoa's first white settlers, they established a farm and trading post to the local Native Americans. They were very respected by them, and other settlers who came to the Tekoa area in later years. .
1st Pleasant Hill School
THE FIRST PLEASANT HILL SCHOOL
One of Tekoa's first schools, this was abandoned in the 1920's, when the students and faculty moved to the second Pleasant Hill School. The photo was taken circa 1910.
A beautiful columned Victorian style elementary school. This photo was taken in 1908.
The Old High School
THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL
A photo of the old Tekoa High School as it originally appeared after construction. Note the old style rock and mortar foundation.
the Old High School sans the tower
THE OLD HIGH SCHOOL
A photo of the old Tekoa High School after it's beautiful tower was removed. Note the range in age of the classic automobiles in front, and how the trees have grown compared to the previous photo of the school
The latest Elementary School
"NEW" ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
A well made brick structure, this building is still standing and in daily use. The cupola has been removed, but otherwise the building remains mostly unchanged. Kindergarten through sixth grade students attend here now.