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John Lemon came to Cheney, WA, in 03/1878, one of the first whites to arrive. He occupied land west of the town site platted by investors from Colfax, WA, in 1880. Another early settler in Cheney, George Engel, said of this log cabin built c. 1878: "There were some people living in the neighborhood. John Lemon had a log house southwest of the reservoir hill." Lemon's House was the site of early elections in the new town of Cheney: "The first political meeting in Cheney was held at John Lemon's place on July 10, 1880, to nominate a county seat, according to Mr. Engel. The first election was held also at the Lemon house in the fall of 1880, at which time Cheney was selected as the county seat." (See "History of the State Normal School at Cheney, Washington,"Accessed 08/04/2014.) Considerable disagreement lasted throughout the 1880s as Spokane Falls and Cheney fought over which city would be the county seat. Elections were held twice, with improprieties charged on both sides. Spokane succeeded in getting it in 1886, and never relinquished it.

PCAD id: 19330