Centralia, Washington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Centralia is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 14,742 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
In pioneer days, Centralia was the halfway stopover point for stagecoaches operating between the Columbia River and Seattle. In 1850, J. G. Cochran, coming from Missouri with a young negro slave named George Washington, filed a donation land claim on the townsite. Later, Cochran freed his slave, adopted him as a son, and in 1852 sold him his claim for $6,000. The new owner built a home and filed a plat for the town of Centerville, offering lots for $10 each, with one lot free to buyers who built houses. Centralia was officially incorporated on February 3, 1886.
In 1891, the population, over 1,000, found its mail confused with that of another Centerville in the state, and the name of the town was changed to Centralia. (Washington - A guide to the Evergreen State, WPA American Guide Series, Washington State Historical Society, 1941). The city was the site of the infamous Centralia Massacre in 1919 and subsequent lynching of Industrial Workers of the World member Wesley Everest on November 11, 1919, where Everest was turned over to the lynch mob by the jail guards, had his teeth smashed with a rifle butt, was castrated, lynched three times in three separate locations, and then his corpse was riddled with bullets before it was disposed of in an unmarked grave. The official coroner's report listed the victim's cause of death as "suicide." [1]
The 1940 population of Centralia was 7,414.
Longtime NBA player Detlef Schrempf attended Centralia High School as an exchange student from the former West Germany (1980-1981), starring in basketball.
[edit] Economy and Employment
On Nov. 28, 2006 it was announced that TransAlta Corp., the largest employer in Centralia, would eliminate 600 high-paying coal mining jobs. The nearby coal-fired electrical generating facility is not affected, except the coal to fire the plant will now come from Wyoming and Montana. This will be a huge blow to the local economy. Source: Daily Olympian article
[edit] Geography
Centralia is located at (46.720484, -122.961429)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.3 km² (7.4 mi²). 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.67%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 14,742 people, 5,943 households, and 3,565 families residing in the city. The population density was 768.1/km² (1,990.6/mi²). There were 6,510 housing units at an average density of 339.2/km² (879.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.76% White, 0.44% African American, 1.25% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 4.94% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.22% of the population.
There were 5,943 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,684. Males had a median income of $31,595 versus $22,076 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,305. About 13.6% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Intercity Rail Transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Centralia. Amtrak train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Centralia at 11:45am with service to Kelso-Longview, Portland, Sacramento, Emeryville, California (with bus connection to San Francisco), and Los Angeles. Amtrak train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Centralia at 5:57pm daily with service to Olympia-Lacey, Tacoma and Seattle. Amtrak Cascades trains, operating as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, serve Centralia several times daily in both directions.
[edit] Politics
Although slightly less so than Lewis County as a whole, Centralia is conservative and fairly Republican. The 2004 U.S. Presidential Election result was as follows for incorporated Centralia:
- George W. Bush (Republican) - 3,376 (59.48%)
- John F. Kerry (Democrat) - 2,182 (38.44%)
- Ralph Nader (Independent) - 59 (1.04%)
- Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) - 32 (0.56%)
- Other candidates - 27 (0.48%)
[edit] Media outlets
Print
Centralia's leading newspaper is The Chronicle and is ranked seventeenth in the state based on weekday circulation [2] and serves most of Lewis County. There are also several community-based newspapers that are published bi-weekly, such as The Lewis County News and The East County Journal.
AM Radio
FM Radio
- KCED - 91.3 FM
- KMNT - 104.3 FM
- KACS - 90.5 FM
- KITI-FM - 95.1 FM
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
