Medical Lake

The city of Medical Lake was incorporated in 1890. The city took its name from the nearby eponymous lake.

The Spokane people, a Native American tribe which had long inhabited the area, believed the water and mud of the lake to possess curative properties.

White settlers such as Andrew Lefevre and Stanley Hallett, who moved to the area in the 1870s, promoted this belief and marketed the lake salts for medicinal uses. A salt and soap industry developed here, followed by the construction of commercial bath houses in the 1880s. This was a period when springs and spas were popular developments across the country.

Several resort hotels were constructed along the lake shore. In 1891, the state constructed Eastern State Hospital, and this further stimulated economic growth in the city. Such growth continued until the 1920s, when the lake declined in popularity as a tourist destination.

A period of stagnation was interrupted in the 1940s with the construction of nearby Fairchild Air Force Base to support the US effort in World War II. This brought a surge of population to the city. Medical Lake's economy continues to depend upon the institutional presence of Eastern State Hospital and Fairchild AFB. Many residents of the city commute to work in nearby Spokane, which has a more varied economy.