Early Years

George Washington, founder of the city of Centralia, was named after the first president of the United States. He was born in Frederick County Virginia in 1817, the son of a black slave and a white mother. Washington lost his father at an early age when he was sold to another family and taken away. The Cochran's, a white family, later adopted George Washington. The Cochran's, along with George, later moved to Missouri. Because George was, in the term of the time a mulatto (a person of mixed race) he could not go to school so his mother educated him. In addition to his more formal education he learned the trade skills he would need later in life, including tanning hides, sewing and cooking. When George was 20, he moved out on his own, building his own home but a flood destroyed it. Afterwards, he bought a patent to make whiskey in Illinois but was forced to stop because it was illegal, at the time, for blacks or mulattoes, to manufacture or sell alcohol. Later he had a successful business selling lumber but when a white man refused to pay for lumber that George had delivered to him, George took him to court. The case was throwing out of court and George was denied justice because of his race. Blacks at this time have no standing in the courts. George and the Cochran's then moved west to get away from the bigotry they were both experiencing in the east.

West
Out west George Washington's trade skills became particularly handy. He knew, like most people of his time, that the junction of two rivers was prime real estate. So he staked out a claim on 640 acres near the mouth of the Shookumchuck in what was then the Oregon Territory. However, he soon discovered that he had not escaped the bigotry he had experienced in the east; he had merely avoided it for a time. Squatters attempted to steal George's land and he discovered that, as a mulatto, he could not own land in Oregon Territory. So George sold his land to the Cochran's for $200. Over the next few years George and the Cochran's made many improvements on the property. In 1852 the Oregon Territorial legislature passed a bill specifically exempting George Washington from the law forbidding "people of color" from "coming into or residing in the Oregon Territory." George Washington bought his land back from the Cochran's for $3200. James Cochran died in 1859 and his wife died in 1861. For a time George lived on his land in peace alone. In 1868 George built a new two-story home near the present post office in Centralia and, one year later, was married to Mary J Cooness.

The Northern Pacific Railroad began laying track through the area in 1872. George realized this was an opportunity. He plotted out a four-block area by the railroad tracks in 1875. His wife Mary named the streets of Diamond, Pearl, Sliver and Gold. This would become the town of Centerville. George sold lots for ten dollars each and donated the land for schools, churches and a cemetery. He also donated land for what would later be called Washington Park where the Centralia Library was built. However, the name Centerville caused some confusion because there was another Centerville in eastern Washington so George took the suggestion of some people from Centralia, Illinois and changed the name to Centralia.

Washington became a state on November 11, 1889. For awhile Centralia was a boom town of 5,000 people, but during a depression in the late 1800's George Washington kept the town alive by giving food to starving citizens and forgiving debts. George Washington died on August 26, 1905 and is today remembered both as the founder of Centralia and for being a good man despite of what stood against him.

The picture of George Washington on the right of this page is one of sixteen murals depicting local history located throughout the city of Centralia.