History:

Incorporated in 1883, the City of Cheney is located in Spokane County and is now home to more than 9,500 people. Cheney is proud of its small town nature, which is enhanced by the diverse influence of Eastern Washington University.

Cheney developed into the city we know today because of its strong ties to education, rail, and agriculture.This provided a strong economic base for the community and was the result of a much larger event that took place in the United States.

Disagreement between legislators and governors resulted in three appropriation vetoes for the normal school in the next 25 years, but in each case, the citizens of Cheney somehow raised the funds to keep the college going until the next legislative session. The growth of the Cheney Normal School and the transformation of the frontier land into a thriving community were the basis for the changing attitudes in this area. The innovators who created the small community atmosphere were the women of the frontier. All of the energies that were once focused into making the west a home for their families were transformed into creating a vision of preferred lifestyle choices for the youth.

The creation of "Special Interest Groups" was an increasing interest in the social circle. Participating in "proper" social activities became the forefront in Cheney for creating a character all its own. In the past, keeping the Small Town characteristic was an important issue, and today we find that the citizens of Cheney still share that same ideal and vision for Cheney's future.