100 years ago in Spokane: Local rail baron Daniel Corbin dies

Daniel Chase Corbin, Spokane’s “millionaire railroad builder,” died at Sacred Heart Hospital at age 81, of complications from intestinal surgery.

Corbin had been at the heart of the region’s business affairs since 1889, when he arrived and built the Spokane Falls & Northern, from Spokane to British Columbia. Before that, he had already made a fortune in the mining country of Montana and North Idaho. He ran a steamboat operation on Lake Coeur d’Alene and built a railroad to Wardner, Wallace and Burke.

In Spokane, he added to his fortune with the Spokane-International line, which was a connecting link to the Canadian Pacific.

The Spokane Daily Chronicle estimated his estate at between $10 million and $12 million.

During his lifetime, he was “the first Spokane man to whom the Chamber of Commerce gave an honorary life membership,” due to the “important part he played in the development of the Inland Empire.”

From the auto beat: The Inland Empire Automobile Club adopted a new code of signals for drivers.

An arm pointing up indicated a coming right turn.

An arm pointing straight out horizontally indicated a left turn.

An arm pointed downward indicated the driver was going to slow, without turning.

“These simple rules, if carefully observed … will assist in avoiding many accidents,” said the club.