Mrs. Kenneth (Viey) Ramsey was a past President and member of the Lewis County Writers Club. Viey Ramsey had written a weekly column titled "Measured Thoughts" for the Daily Chronicle in Centralia, WA. She discontinued writing her column in 1969 to write a novel about George Washington. It is not clear whether the novel was ever completed.
George Washington was born on 15 August 1817. He was born on a plantation in Virginia where his mother was Caucasian and his father was a slave. Shortly after his birth, his mother took her son to her friends, James C. and Anna Cochran, in Winchester, VA and asked them to raise him as their own so that he would not become a slave. They agreed and named him George Washington. When George was about 4, the family moved to Delaware County, Ohio looking for land to homestead. They spent about 5 years in Ohio before moving to Macon County, MO where they settled. In 1841 George and a partner opened a saw mill in Andrew County, near St. Joseph, MO. After Mr. Coyle, a customer, wouldn't pay for the lumber George had sold him, George pressed him for his payment. Mr. Coyle had George arrested on the basis that an African American couldn't own or run a business in Missouri. A trial resulted but James Cochrane, George's foster father, was able to have a petition passed in the legislature that made George a citizen without restrictions except he couldn't hold office. The saw mill was destroyed by flooding. After trying to find work in Illinois, George was frustrated. George returned home and told his family that he was going West with the wagon trains. Because they had such strong family ties, his parents decided to go with him. In 1850 the family left and arrived in Oregon City, OR in 117 days. Once there George found a job chopping wood. After a month, he became critically ill and Anna took him to the Fort Vancouver Hospital where he recovered after several months. After he recovered, he and the family went north to the Cowlitz Landing, near Toledo, WA. George left the family there and went farther north on his own to the area where the Skookumchuck and the Chehalis Rivers met. He staked a claim of 640 acres of choice land. Because the Territorial Legislature had passed a law that prohibited African American or biracial people settling in the Territory, James Cochran filed the claim to protect the land for George until the law changed. In 1852 a special act entitled, "For the benefit of George Washington, a man of color, of Thurston County, Oregon Territory" which gave him permission to reside within the Territory was passed Dec. 17, 1852. George bought the property back from his foster parents for $3,400 and then added 63 acres. His foster father, James, passed away in 1859. His foster mother, Anna passed away in 1861. For the next 6 years George worked very hard improving his homestead by clearing land and building out buildings. In 1867 George married Mary Jane Coonness, who had been widowed. She had one son, Stacey Coonness, whom George adopted. In 1872, the railroad cut through George's land so he and Mary Jane began planning a town. They platted the area and on 8 January 1875 they filed the plans. The town was called Centerville, later Centralia, WA. George sold the plots at reasonable prices. He and Mary Jane donated land for the church, school, cemetery and park. They town grew and when Washington was admitted as a State in 1889 Centerville had a population of 1,000. Mary Jane Washington passed away 5 March 1888. About 1890, George remarried and they had a son, George Cleveland. The Panic of 1893 turned Centerville into a ghost town. For the people that remained in Centerville, George became a one-man relief program to help the town and people survive. By 1900 the town had revived and was thriving. On 26 August 1905 George Washington passed away from injuries he sustained when he was thrown from a buggy with a run away horse. The Mayor declared a day of mourning and requested businesses close on the day of the funeral. George was buried in Washington Lawn Cemetery, which he had donated, beside his parents. His legacy to the town has been remembered through the years. October 22, 1976 was declared George Washington Day by Governor Daniel Evans. There are several plaques and markers in memorial of George Washington in Centralia, WA.
From the description of Viey Ramsey's collection of papers on George Washington, founder of Centralia, WA , 1966-1976. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 171018338
