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This institution was founded as the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy in 1882; the academy, named for a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the stagecoach, rail and banking mogul, Benjamin P. Cheney (1815–1895), did not last through the end of the decade. Internal squabbles forced its closure in 1887; two years later in 1889, the year of Washington's inclusion as a state, state legislators searched for new sites to establish teacher's colleges to staff a growing secondary school system. The site of the old Cheney Academy was available, and its location served the new state's eastern region.

It became known as the Washington State Normal School, Cheney, from 1889-1937. In 1937, state officials altered its name to the "Eastern Washington College of Education," an appellation that remained until 1961, when it was changed to the "Eastern Washington State College." In 1977, the current name of "Eastern Washington University" was adopted.

PCAD id: 19367