African Americans on the Oregon Trail

Black Exclusion Law

Other African Americans were less fortunate. In 1849 Oregon passed another Black exclusion law making it “unlawful for any negro or mulatto to enter into, or reside” in Oregon, with exceptions for those already present. At least one man is known to have been expelled from the territory under that law. Ten years later Oregon entered statehood with a new constitution that prohibited further Black in-migration and barred Black people from owning property, entering into contracts, or participating in legal matters. (Activists among the Black and white communities were able to get that clause was repealed in 1926.)

Homestead Act of 1862

Rubbing salt in the wound, the Homestead Act of 1862 opened public lands across the West to men and women of any race, so long as they were American citizens. But free people of African descent were denied US citizenship until passage of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868. Then, at last, Black people could expect to take their place among other homesteaders in the West.

In 1852, Washington began a claim where the Skookumchuck River joins the Chehalis River, becoming the fourth settler in the area where he would later found the town of Centralia. The spot had long been a home of the Chehalis Indians, and Washington recognized the river junction as a prime spot for a settlement. He cleared land, built a cabin, and began farming. Because Oregon Territory had passed a law barring settlement by African Americans, Washington had James and Anna Cochran file a claim under the Donation Land Claim Act for 640 acres in the area. When the claim was proved up by four years residence, and Washington Territory, which did not bar African American ownership, had come into existence, the Cochrans deeded the property to Washington.

When he was in his 50s, some years after Anna and James Cochran had died, Washington met and married Mary Jane Cooness (or Cornie), a widow of African American and Jewish descent. In 1872, the Northern Pacific Railroad, advancing north from the Columbia River to Puget Sound, crossed the Washingtons' land. They recognized that their land would be a central point on the railroad between Kalama, on the Columbia, and Tacoma, on the Sound, and decided to start a town on the site. Over the supper table, they laid out a town centered around a little store that their neighbor Isaac Wingard operated nearby.

Staking a Claim

On January 8, 1875, the Washingtons filed the plat for their town, which they called Centerville, at the Lewis County courthouse in nearby Chehalis. The initial plat consisted of four blocks platted into lots, which Washington offered for sale at $10 per lot to anyone who would settle in the town. Washington later filed additional plats, adding to the size of the town. The Washingtons gave land to their Baptist congregation for a church and cemetery, and helped build the church. They also set aside land for a public square, which became Centralia's City Park, now named George Washington Park.

The town grew steadily. But while settlers liked the location, and the favorable terms Washington offered, they did not care for the name Centerville, in part because the town was confused with one of the same name near Goldendale, Klickitat County. By 1883, the name was changed to Centralia, based on the suggestion of a settler from Centralia, Illinois. In 1886, Centralia was incorporated.

By 1889, when Washington Territory became a state, the population of Centralia was nearing 1,000. Those were boom times, and within little more than a year, the population had climbed to more than 3,000. By 1891, George Washington had sold 2000 lots.

Platting the Town

Mary Jane Washington died in 1888. George Washington remained an active civic leader in the town he and his wife had founded. He was noted for his willingness to help fellow residents in many ways, including selling property for little money down, offering loans at no interest, and providing work when no other was available.

Washington's assistance became crucial when the panic of 1893 hit and Centralia, along with the rest of the country, went into an economic downspin for most of the decade. On his own initiative, Washington organized a private relief program for needy residents. He drove to Portland, Oregon, by wagon to bring back tons of staples like rice, flour, and sugar, which he distributed along with lard and bacon that he bought wholesale in Chehalis. Washington declined to foreclose on mortgages he held, and when other properties went up for auction, he bought them to save the town from absentee ownership or bankruptcy. Although population and property values declined, Centralia survived and by the end of the decade began to rebound, entering the twentieth century with a population of around 1,600.

Washington remained active and involved in business and civic affairs until shortly before his death on August 26, 1905, 11 days after his 88th birthday. The mayor proclaimed a day of mourning, asking that all businesses close during Washington's funeral, reputed to be the largest in Centralia's history. The funeral was held at the Baptist church Washington had supported, and the founder of Centralia was buried in the cemetery he had donated.

A Civic Leader

Mt. Union Cemetery

In 1861, Reuben Shipley donated 2 acres of his farm for the establishment of the cemetery on the condition that Black people could be buried there. The name given to the cemetery was chosen to show unity with the anti-slavery Northern forces during the Civil War. Abiathar and Norrie Newton had donation land claims just north and west of the cemetery and during the first few years there were many Newtons burried there, leading some to start calling it the "Newton Cemetery."

Reuben died in 1873 and both he and his wife, Mary Jane, some of their children, and Mary Jane's second husband, Alfred Drake, are buried in Mt. Union Cemetery.

Long after Reuben died, the Shipley farm was owned by the Wheeler family who built a large home on the farm. Mrs. Minnie Gray Wheeler later sold more acreage to the Cemetery Association to meet the growing needs of the cemetery. That purchase brought Mount Union Cemetery it to its present size of 6.7 acres.