The Lewis County Courthouse is a neo-classical Beaux-Arts inspired courthouse located in Chehalis, Washington. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 18, 2014.
The Lewis County Courthouse is the last of possibly 7 or more courthouses that represented the county, including two prior judicial buildings in the city of Chehalis. The first official courthouse is debated between the home of Judge Sidney Ford in Ford's Prairie or the log cabin Jackson Courthouse under early pioneer John R. Jackson in present-day Mary's Corner. Judicial proceedings were known to have taken place on the homesteads of other prominent, early settlers in Lewis County. The first courthouse built on order of the county government was located in Claquato, temporarily becoming the county seat.
The county seat moved to Chehalis in 1874 and the first courthouse in the city was constructed that same year. The structure served as a centralized judicial building until possibly 1901, when the county purchased a mixed-use hotel, entertainment, and commercial building built by the matriarch of Chehalis, Elizabeth Barrett Saunders. Known as the Barret Block Courthouse, it was often in disrepair, considered unsanitary, and experienced several prison escapes. The site was criticized consistently in the local press for its lack of facility and the building's eyesore nature. Moderate attempts to keep the building in working order were undertaken and it lasted as use as a courthouse until the Lewis County Courthouse was completed in June 1927.
The Lewis County Courthouse held a dedication on June 17, 1927 after two years of construction. Attended by prominent government officials and a large crowd, the festivities included an evening ball. The courthouse was declared to last 100 years and, as the "people's courthouse", was always open to any and all Lewis County citizens.
The courthouse, designed by Jacque "Jack" DeForest Griffin, was erected at a cost of over $418,000 on a corner lot at Main Street and Chehalis Avenue on grounds that contained a church and other buildings. The four-story structure is built mostly of concrete, with Tenino sandstone, carved inscriptions, and various motifs on the exterior. Bronze doors dominate the main entrance on North Street. The interior is dominated by a central staircase and the building contains original woodwork. Painting restoration efforts in the early 2000s reflected the initial wall colors of the 1920s. It once contained a jail on the attic floor from which several escapes were attempted, some successful. The courthouse floors include a basement and mezzanine and numerous original details still remain within the corridors of the building.
The courthouse, despite being built with expansion in mind, began to suffer from overcrowding in the coming decades. The judicial building became a focal point of a larger government campus created to alleviate the crowding issue, beginning with the build of a 1950s annex known as the Lewis County Public Health Building. Continuing issues over a lack of functional space led to the construction of the Lewis County Law and Justice Center annex in the late 1970s, and the Lewis County Jail at the turn of the century. The Law and Justice Center once contained a skyway that connected to the courthouse, its purpose to ferry prisoners between the two buildings. The skywalk, the only such architectural feature in the county at the time, was removed for lack of use and deterioration in 2002.
The Lewis County Courthouse has experienced over its lifetime several fires, acts of prisoner violence, vandalism, and is often a site for local protests. The building has also undergone numerous remodels, renovations, and restorations as needs for the county government has changed. Despite the necessary alterations over the years, restorations have allowed the courthouse to remain true to its original state.
, the courthouse's rebuild value was reported to be $140 million. The judicial building has been noted for its permanence of construction, historic character, ties to courthouse history in the county, and is considered to be an excellent example of pride within Lewis County and the city of Chehalis.
History Early county courthouse history
Lewis County had several county seats and courthouses before finally settling in Chehalis. The first recorded Lewis County proceeding was a commissioner's meeting at the Ford's Prairie home of Judge Sidney (Sydney) Smith Ford on October 4, 1847. The first judicial proceeding in the county, then part of the Washington Territory, was held in October 1850 at the log cabin Jackson family home on Jackson Prairie, eventually known as Mary's Corner. The court matter, a selection of jurors, was overseen by Federal Judge William R. Strong of Oregon. The record of which location was the first official courthouse in the county has remained up for debate.
Proceedings alternated between the Ford and Jackson locations for a time, creating a rivalry, with Mr. Ford once refusing to attend a meeting at the Jackson location; he was fined $10. Commissioner meetings often described issues of travel as deplorable and time-consuming. The Ford site, now lost and its location not specifically known, was considered too remote and the Jackson courthouse difficult to reach for people traveling from the Puget Sound region. Hazards included traversing the Skookumchuck River and muddy lands of Saundersville, the early name of what became known as Chehalis. The creation of Thurston County in 1852 lessened the need to travel to Lewis County for court matters and the Jackson Courthouse became the central legal meeting house for the county.
Court and county proceedings have been recorded or mentioned as being held during the 1850s in other locations possibly due to changes in county commissioners or a continuation of political rivalries. Courthouses included the cabin of Simon Plamondon at Cowlitz Landing and the home of John Moore on the Newaukum Prairie, with a documented meeting on December 1, 1858.
Exhaustion over the constant moving of courthouse locations necessitated a territorial legislative act in January 1862 that provided funding for the construction of a permanent courthouse in the county. The community of Claquato was chosen as the county seat after the founder of the town, Lewis H. Davis, agreed to terms to donate land for the courthouse. It was built on a parcel north of the Claquato Church, a National Register of Historic Places site, by John D. Clinger. The two-story courthouse contained lumber supplied by Davis' sawmill and the site included a flag pole. Up until the construction of the Claquato Courthouse, there are no known records of the county previously spending funds on a courthouse.
The Claquato Courthouse was completed in six months, and the first event held was a fundraiser for the Union during the Civil War. Despite its designation as a courthouse, travel to Lewis County for court-related matters was still difficult and no official court proceedings were recorded as occurring during its time. However, the building was used to conduct county business. The county seat shifted to Chehalis in 1874 and the Claquato courthouse was used for several community functions such as a schoolhouse, Grange hall, and as a cheese factory. It was ultimately demolished in 1888, the lumber used to build a home for a Claquato family.
First courthouse in Chehalis
The first official courthouse in Chehalis was begun in the spring of 1874 and completed a few months later in June. Built on a cleared acre of land at the corner of North Street and State Avenue, construction on the two-story wood-framed courthouse was overseen by an Olympia-based contractor, W.H. Taylor & Sons. The footprint was listed as ; the first floor contained offices for public services and the top floor reserved for courtrooms.
As part of the move of the county seat, the county only agreed to earmark $1,000 for the building's construction, necessitating a bond to cover additional costs signed by several prominent citizens, including John Dobson and William West. The total cost of the build reached $3,000. The courthouse was formally dedicated on July 4, 1874. A day-long celebration was followed by a ball inside the courthouse; tickets to attend cost $2.50 per couple.
Public documents from around the county were transferred to the site in August and a small judicial campus was built on the block, including a building for office space and a county jail. Eventually as the county and city grew, the structure was considered too small for use. The courthouse was also considered too old and in disrepair, referred to by the county commissioners as a "rotten fire trap". Official discussions to find a new courthouse began in 1898, with a bid on another site, known as the Barret brick building, authorized by September 1899. The first official county courthouse's purpose ceased in either 1889, 1897, or 1901.
The structure was sold and moved to the corner of Market and West streets where it became known as the Spalding Hotel. The Spalding was destroyed by fire of unknown origin on the evening of November 14, 1911.
Barrett Block Courthouse
The Barrett Block Courthouse, located in the original downtown district of Chehalis, was a block east of the first courthouse. The building was originally a mixed-used building featuring the city's Grand Central Hotel, a bank, saloon, and a variety of stores. The building was erected in 1891 by Elizabeth Barrett Saunders, also known as the "Mother of Chehalis". After the shift of the downtown core to Market Street, the Barrett building was mostly vacant and compiling numerous back taxes. After Barret died, the structure was planned to be sold by one of her son's to pay off the tax debt.
Instead, the Barret brick building was ordered into sale by the county's Superior court with the express understanding that the county would purchase the site for no more than $8,000. The city completed the sale of the three-story hotel structure for $6,500, spending an additional $3,000 for repairs and upgrades. Major renovations were undertaken in late 1899 which included an overhaul of the layouts of each floor.
Since its beginnings, the Barrett courthouse was often chided in the local press due to its location and lack of facility. The courthouse jail was overcrowded and convict escapes were common. New jail cells were added in February 1908 and later again in July.
The county board of commissioners began looking to replace the Barrett courthouse by as early as 1909 as the facility was already in need of repairs and rooms were considered "not as handy as they should be". A report by a county grand jury, condemning parts of the building in 1917, suggested that the Barret Courthouse be remodeled. The county commissioner board decided to provide only limited funding to keep the structure operational, opting instead for a new courthouse building to be constructed at a later date. Some minor repairs were undertaken in 1918 to the roof, repainting of exposed tin and a jury room was wallpapered.
The day after the events of the November 11, 1919 Centralia Tragedy, the International Workers of the World (IWW) prisoners were transported to the courthouse for safety. At a trial held in the Superior courtroom in June 1920, four members of the IWW were found guilty of "criminal syndicalism" tied to the events.