Lewis County WA, located in the southwestern part of Washington State, is distinguished by its rich tapestry of landscapes ranging from the western lowlands’ fertile agricultural plains to the eastern rugged terrains of the Cascade Mountain Range. Established on December 19, 1845, it is one of the original counties of Washington Territory, formed from the northern part of the Columbia District by the Oregon Provisional Government. Its creation predates the establishment of Washington Territory itself, showcasing its historical significance. Named in honor of Meriwether Lewis, of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition, the county’s historical roots are deeply intertwined with the early exploration and settlement of the Pacific Northwest. Throughout its history, Lewis County has evolved from a fur trading and logging hub to a diverse economy that includes agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism, reflecting the broader economic transitions of the region. The county seat, Chehalis, situated in the heart of Lewis County, serves as the administrative and cultural center, further emphasizing the county’s role as a pivotal area in Washington’s development.
Jay D. Champ, 79, of Spanaway, died Saturday [December 10, 1983]. Mr. Champ, a retired lumber worker, was born in Winlock, Lewis County, and came to Spanaway 20 years ago. Surviving is a sister, Florence Leland of Seattle. Powers Funeral Home, Puyallup, is in charge. [Interment Fern Hill Cemetery, Aberdeen, WA.] Contributed by: Shelli Steedman
John Champ, aged 53 years, died at Winlock, Monday morning [December 6] following an illness of several months. Mr. Champ was a well-known early resident of Winlock and served the town as marshal on various occasions. He had lived at Winlock about 35 years. He is survived by a wife and six children, four daughters and two sons. [My research shows six daughters and four sons survived him] Chehalis Bee Nugget, December 10, 1915 Contributed by: Shelli Steedman
Gus Anderson, 65, one of southwest Washington’s best known hop growers, died at his home at Klaber Saturday evening [January 4, 1936]. Mr. Anderson was born in Hallsberg, Sweden, November 4, 1870. He came to the United States in 1893 as a young man and had resided in this section 26 years. For many years he was superintendent of the hop yard of the Herman Klaber Company at Klaber, rated the largest in Washington, and was a real expert in the growing and handling of that crop. Previously he worked at the hop game at Chehalis for Carl Motter 5 … Read more
Mrs. Wm. Champ died at her home [November 16, 1888] near Winlock Saturday morning last after a short illness. Mrs. Champ was one of the pioneers of Lewis County, coming here before the day of railroads and palace cars, or even steamboats, and has seen the development of the county from its infancy. Many a weary and discouraged immigrant has found shelter and encouragement under her hospitable roof, and many a one will cherish her memory kindly for good deeds nobly done. She leaves a large family of grandchildren and a husband to mourn her loss, who are given the … Read more
Death came to Mrs. Amanda McDannald Layton, 76, Tuesday evening [June 29, 1943] at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Amanda Prince, on Ford’s Prairie. Also surviving are a son Roy R. Layton, Ryderwood; seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Born October 9, 1866 at Rollo, Sullivan County, Missouri, Mrs. Layton crossed the plains the following year with her parents, Daniel W. and Margaret [Wheeler] McDannald who took up a homestead at Napavine. She was married May 4, 1881 to Henry C. Layton who passed away in 1921. Since then she had made her home with Mrs. Prince. Funeral services … Read more
A resident of Lewis County from 1923 to 1977, Gerhardt Adolph Penner, 88, died in a Kirkland nursing home, Tuesday, January 2. He was born March 26, 1890 in Port Orchard and has been a resident of Bellevue since 1977. Mr. Penner worked as a salesman for Darigold and as a custodian for the Centralia and Chehalis Schools. He was a member of the First Christian Church of Chehalis and was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey Dorene in August, 1978. Survivors include a son, Clark C., Walnut Creek, Calif.; a daughter, Mrs. H. C. (Carman) Hardebeck, Bellevue; a … Read more
Daniel E. McEwen, well-known resident of Rose Valley for the last years, who had lived in Kelso since last December passed away quietly at his home at 207 South Sixth Street west Kelso this morning at 6:45 o’clock after a two weeks illness. He was 64 years of age at the time of his death and had been a resident of Lewis and Cowlitz counties for the last 48 years. He was well known among logging and mill men and it is said of him by his friends that he was highly respected and upright in all his dealings. He … Read more
Audrey Dorene Penner, a resident of Lewis County for 70 years, died Thursday [August 24] in a Bellevue Hospital. She was 79. She was born Oct. 25, 1898, in Grove, Okla., and was raised in the Adna area. Survivors include her husband, Gerhardt at home in Bellevue; a son Clark C, Walnut Creek, Calif.; a daughter, Mrs. H. C. (Carmen) Hardebeck, Bellevue; a brother, George W. Viles, Centralia; six grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Sticklin Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Dennis Weaver officiating. Interment will follow at Claquato Cemetery, Chehalis. … Read more
A lifetime resident of Lewis County, Mrs. Merle Alta Layton, 70, Toledo, died Sunday [May 8, 1966] in a Chehalis hospital. She was born Jan. 19, 1896 in Clatskanie, Ore. Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Hazel Foley, Chicago, Ill., Mrs. Oneta Pettett, Olympia and Mrs. Genevieve McKune, Winlock; a son, Virgil Layton, Kelso; three half sisters, Mrs. Gladys Marshall, Kelso, Mrs. Viola Wetzel, Seattle and Mrs. Reba Richter, Louisiana; three stepsisters, Mrs. Ethel Layton, Olympia, Mrs. Esther Pratt, Toledo and Mrs. Ruth Allison, Junction City, Ore.; 14 grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services are Wednesday at 2 p.m. … Read more
Services for George W. Ormsby, 85, formerly of Nampa, who died Tuesday, June 10 [1986], in Olympia, Wash., will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at the Fissel Chapel of the Brown Mortuary Service, Chehalis, Wash. Burial will follow at the Claquato Cemetery, Chehalis. Mr. Ormsby was born Sept. 30, 1900, at Sams Springs, Iowa. He married Edith Roberts Oct. 8, 1924, in Mountain Home. They moved to Nampa, where he worked for the Pacific Fruit Express, retiring after 20 years service in 1945. He was a member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Engineers in Idaho. He then operated a … Read more
HON. CLANRICK CROSBY. – This gentleman, of whom an excellent portrait appears in our work, was born in East Brewster, Massachusetts, January 6 1838. He is a son of Captain Clanrick and Phoebe H. (Fessenden) Crosby. In 1849 he came with his parents via Cape Horn on board the brig Grecian, of which his father was captain and part owner. The father was a sea-faring man until his arrival in San Francisco in the above year. After a short stay there, he brought his vessel to Portland, and there selling her quit the sea. The family remained in Portland, Oregon, … Read more
Mrs. Lulu M. Layton, 77, of Star Route, Toledo, passed away Thursday [April 3, 1952] in a Chehalis hospital following a brief illness. She was born Oct. 13, 1874 in Vermillion, S.D., and had been a resident of Toledo and Lewis County since 1889. Surviving are seven daughters, Mrs. Nora Nixon, Toledo; Mrs. Gladys Latunen, Winlock; Mrs. Verna Ryckman, Centralia; Mrs. Edna Edmonds, Tacoma; Mrs. Laura Conrad, Oakland, Calif.; Mrs. Mabel Hurley, San Francisco, and Mrs. Eva Kirkendoll, Bridgeville, Calif.; one son, Oren, Toledo; one brother, Ed J. Omeg, Toledo, and 16 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. Funeral services will … Read more
James William Champ, a resident of Centralia, died Friday, Sept. 17, in Centralia General Hospital at the age of 103. Champ was born Jan. 5, 1897, on Lacamas Prairie in Winlock.. He was a retired farmer and logger. He is survived by a sister, Violet Lampitt of Palo Alto, Calif., and several nieces and nephews. A graveside service was held Monday at the Winlock Cemetery with the Rev. August Banaksy officiating. Fir Lawn Funeral Chapel of Toledo was in charge of arrangements. Daily Chronicle Centralia, September 20, 1982 Contributed by: Shelli Steedman
Mrs. Ralph J. Champ, 59, succumbed Sunday [October 2, 1955] at her home on route 1, Winlock. Mrs. Champ, born Sept. 22, 1896 in Arlington, Wash., is survived, in addition to her husband, by a daughter, Mrs. Lynne Pope, Algona; sister, Mrs. R. D. Campbell, Winlock; three brothers, Robert Wallace [Wallis], Spokane, and William and Hugh Wallace, Arlington, and three grandchildren. The deceased was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m., at the John W. Boone Chapel in Chehalis with the Rev. George Shuman officiating. Cremation will follow. [Interment in Winlock Cemetery] … Read more
Former Lewis County Boy Died In France. News comes from France that Gen. Pershing reports the death of Hubert E. Roberts of Warren, Ore., from meningitis [January 26, 1918]. Mr. Roberts was raised in Lewis County and has a large circle of friends here. His sister, Mrs. Gust Anderson, lives in Klaber. He was 28 years old, married and had no children. He was called on the first draft at St. Helens, Ore., and sent to Camp Lewis. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman
Mrs. Francis M. Gowen, aged 56, a well-known Lewis County pioneer, died at the family home at Silver Creek, Friday, July 8 [1927]. Sophronia Thomas was born in march, 1871, at Sidney, Fremont County, Iowa, and at the age of 16 she came with her parents to Toledo, where in 1896 she was married to Francis Gowen. They moved to Silver Creek in 1902, where they have since resided. She is survived by the widower and seven children, three boys, Ernest, Dewey and Myron; and four girls, Mrs. Pearl Baird, Misses Daisy and Ruby, of Silver Creek, and Mrs. Violet … Read more
A longtime resident of Centralia, Mrs. Lena M. McEwen, 82, died Wednesday at a Centralia hospital. She was born March 28, 1884 at Lawrence, Kan. Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Alta Rasmussen, Battle Ground and Mrs. Laura Timberman, Vancouver; four sons, Dan, Centralia, Wilbur and Melvin, both of Kelso and Elmer, Oakland, Calif.; a sister, Mrs. Myrtle Mooney, Portland; 11 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. Funeral services are Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Fissell-Brown Mortuary Chapel, Chehalis, with the Rev. James F. Scott officiating. Interment will follow at the Toledo Cemetery [Fir Lawn Cemetery]. Pallbearers will be Leslie Palmer, … Read more
Alfred Champ, of this city, 45 year old native son of Lewis County, died Friday [June 8, 1933] at Riverton Hospital, where he had been some months following an illness of flu, contracted in January. He was the son of former well known pioneers. Surviving are his aged mother, Mrs. Cora Champ; two brothers, Howard Champ of Winlock and Wallace Champ of Alsea, Ore.; and six sisters, Mrs. George Mellor of Shelton, Mrs. Willis Pope of Adna, Mrs. Ruth Miller of Longview, Mrs. Erma Kotoskey and Miss Lottie Champ of Winlock and Mrs. Sol Chancey of Los Angeles, Calif. Funeral … Read more
Graveside services were to be held at the Cowlitz Mission Cemetery this afternoon for Mrs. Catherine Morrow, 85 whose death, occurred in Portland, Wednesday [July 18, 1934]. Mass was said in St. Agatha’s Church in that city this morning. The Morrow family settled on Cowlitz Prairie in the early days. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Morrow moved to Portland, where she has resided many years. She is survived by the following children: Mrs. Belle Frazier, L. P. Morrow, Mrs. C. J. Kryger, Mrs. Nellie Miller and Mrs. Irene Moore, Portland; Harry Morrow, Oregon City, and M. J. Morrow, Sacramento. A … Read more
Baker City, Oregon Harry Smith, 81, a 50-year resident of Morton, Wash., and a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 7, 2003, at the Centralia Providence Hospital. There was a private family service. Arrangements were under the direction of Brown Mortuary at Morton. Harry was born on March 1, 1921, at Portland to Harry and Ruth Spencer Smith. He was raised at Baker City and joined the U.S. Army in September 1940. Harry saw action in the battles of Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe and the Aleutian Islands. He was captured and spent eight months in a prisoner of war camp … Read more