An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The
Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893, pages 336-337
	
	
	E.P. GILLETTE, proprietor of the Hotel Gillette, of Spokane, was born in
Cortland, New York, in 1860, a son of A.S. and Harriet E. (Osborn) Gillette, the
former a native of New York, and the latter of Connecticut. The father was a
manufacturer and miner by occupation.
	E.P. Gillette, the youngest of six children, was educated in the public
schools of New York, and in 1883 began a classical course in the Oberlin
College, Ohio, but did not finish. For the following six years he was employed
by the Pullman Sleeping Car Company, at New York city, and was then engaged in
commercial business one year. In 1887 Mr. Gillette came to Spokane, where he was
proprietor of the Pacific Coast Tea Company, and also conducted a large
restaurant. The great fire of 1889 destroyed everything he possessed, but with
his customary energy he began to rebuild before the fire was fully under
control. Three times his floor which was laid on the ground, caught fire from
the heat under it, but he persevered, and two days afterward his restaurant was
open in a tent. In 1890 he opened the Columbia Hotel, now one of the largest in
the city. Mr. Gillette was a member of the old volunteer fire department of
Spokane, and organized the present paid department, of which he was the first
Chief. In addition to his other business interests, he is also largely
interested in mining property, and in the future will no doubt realize largely
from such investments. He has served as a delegate to two State and County
conventions, and occupies a high degree in the orders of Odd Fellows and Knights
of Pythias. Has been a student all his life, is well posted on the affairs of
the day, and is one of the most progressive men in Spokane. In January, 1893, he
moved into the three-story brick building called the Hotel Gillette. It extends
from Riverside street through to Sprague avenue, front on Riverside street. It
is modern in every respect and located in the most prominent part of the city.
	
	
Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in September 2003 by Jeffrey L. Elmer
	
	
	
	
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Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies
Project.  Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the
individual featured in the biographies.