Photos Linked to Centralia Massacre Donated to Lewis County Museum

The story of what has come to be known as the Centralia Massacre did not end on Nov. 11, 1919, when five people died violently on the streets of Centralia.

Though the facts are disputed, in the end, four veterans were gunned down during ot after an Armistice Day parade and one Industrial Workers of the World member was beaten, shot and hanged from a narrow bridge over the Chehalis River.

The finer points of the story are debated to this day, but what’s clear is the story continued after the Armistice Day clash. 

It wasn’t until 1939 when the last Wobbly — a term used to describe members of the The Industrial Workers of the World — was released from jail.

One major element of the story is the murder trial of several Wobblies in Montesano in 1920. 

The proceedings themselves are well documented and recorded in history books, but now a piece of those trials has made its way back to Lewis County. 

Last spring, the Lewis County Historical Museum received an anonymous donation of evidentiary photos and court documents from the proceedings to add to its collection.    

“The museum should be the primary depository of local history,” Lewis County Historical Society President Peter Lahmann said. “I was pretty thrilled when I saw them.” 

Museum Director Jason Mattson said the museum will begin digitizing the photos to preserve them. Some will be put on display as part of the centennial exhibit of the massacre in 2019. 

“We hope to have a significant exhibit at that time,” Lahmann said. “It is a historically significant event.”

In most labor history books, Centralia and the events of Nov. 11, 1919, are discussed, he said. 

He said the museum had a couple artifacts from the event, but not much else, until the 20 to 30 photos were donated. 

Lahmann said the photos were used by the defense for the Wobblies, and many have court information on the back such as exhibit numbers and a stamp from the Grays Harbor County Clerk. The trial was held in the county seat of Montesano. 

The photos also show North Tower Avenue from several different angles during the late 1910s. 

One photo shows a three-story building that is still standing today, but now has one story. Lahmann said he does not know why the top two stories disappeared or when, but he is interested in finding out. 

Photos also show the Roderick Hotel on North Tower where the Wobblies office was located from the front, back and side, Lahmann said. It was torn down in the 1920s and a cement brick building was built there instead. It currently houses Tower Transmission. 

According to John McClelland, who wrote “Wobbly War The Centralia Story,” Wesley Everest, one of the Wobblies who was shooting at the American Legionaries from the I.W.W. Hall, escaped out the back of the hotel and ran north toward the Skookumchuck River. Everest was cornered between the river and the pursuing Legionaries. He shot Dale Hubbard several times, killing him. Everest was apprehended by other servicemen who were chasing him. Hubbard was the fourth death of the day. 

One of the photos now in the collection of the museum shows the alley Everest ran down. Lahmann said it’s one of the first photos he has seen of that area. 

Everest was lynched the night after the shooting at the bridge over the Chehalis River. 

In 1920, 11 men were charged with the murder of Warren O. Grimm, one of the serviceman killed during the shooting during the Armistice Day parade. Defending the I.W.W. men was Seattle attorney George Vanderveer. He argued the men charged were not responsible for Grimm’s death. However, seven of the 11 men were found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced by Judge John Wilson to prison for 25 to 40 years, the maximum sentence for the crime at the time.

The men convicted were Eugene Barnett, John Lamb, O.C. Blands, Bert Blands, Britt Smith, Ray Becker and James McInerney, all Wobblies. 

Elmer Smith, the Centralia lawyer who told the Wobblies they had a right to defend their property, was acquitted of the charge of accessory to murder. Mike Sheehan was acquitted of the murder charge and Bret Faulkner was released earlier in the trial. Loren Roberts was acquitted due to insanity. 

Most of the men were released from prison in 1933 when newly elected Democratic Gov. Clarence D. Martin commuted their sentences. McInerney died in prison. Becker refused to leave prison until he received a full pardon, which he received in 1939.