Seminary Hill Natural Area

Seminary Hill Natural Area is a nature preserve and park in Centralia, Washington. The site is situated on Seminary Hill, a more than -tall landform that is also the name of a neighborhood located upon the terrain.

The area was logged during the 19th century and became home to a divinity school known as Grace Seminary. The school was constructed during the late 1880s and opened in 1890. The seminary struggled financially and closed multiple times; by 1905 the building was converted into a hospital, serving as such until approximately 1920. The structure was mostly abandoned, and due to neglect, was required to be razed in the 1930s. Afterwards, the grounds became the location of a National Guard Armory; a golf course was constructed on the surrounding land.

The hill has been home to the city's reservoir system since the early 20th century. Members of the International Workers of the World (IWW) used Seminary Hill as an entrenched position during the Centralia Tragedy in 1919.

The area became a city park known as Seminary Hill Park, or Dry Park, in the 1930s after the Works Progress Administration began constructing a trail system throughout the forested site. By the late 1970s as the city failed to patrol the site, the park had fallen into disrepair, often used as a garage dumping ground. By 1980, local residents formed a non-profit group known as the Friends of Seminary Hill Natural Area (FSHNA) with the intent to preserve the hill and its forest and park setting. The efforts led to the official declaration by the city to list the site as Seminary Hill Natural Area in 1981.

In 1991, the two reservoirs located in the natural area collapsed due to erosion. No injuries or deaths were reported; damages were limited despite the flood and mudslide. The reservoir was rebuilt and became operational in 1994.

The FSHNA manages and maintains the park, which was expanded to its present-day size in 2000. The volunteer organization holds various trail walks for educational purposes. The preserve features over of hiking paths through a second growth forest which contains approximately 400 species of flora.

Background

Early history of Seminary Hill The hill, located east of the Centralia Downtown Historic District, was initially listed on maps by the 1840s and first logged approximately in the mid-1860s.

Organized in 1884, the Northwest Convention of Missionary Baptists (NCMB) began efforts to purchase a plot of land on the hill, completing the sale in 1886. Historical reporting on the early efforts of the NCMB mention that a Baptist church or seminary had either already been constructed or was in the process of being built by another church organization upon Seminary Hill by 1885.

In 1889, the organization proposed to the city of Centralia the build of a divinity school in exchange for deeded land and for construction costs. The city agreed and the founder of Centralia, George Washington, is reported to have donated the funds for the construction of the seminary.

Known as Grace Seminary, the facility became a well-known landmark in the community, and the city was referred to as "that town with the great big building on top of a hill". Passengers on Northern Pacific Railway trains were noted to have "stretched their necks" to view the building, wondering "about its origin and purpose".

The Gothic architecture-style seminary was founded by Reverend Mary C. Jones. Jane and William F. Bryan, a Black couple residing in Centralia, donated of the grounds and attempted to sell the remaining portion to the seminary for . The missionary organization failed to raise the funds but the debt was undertaken by a local judge, R.S. Greene. The seminary was named after his wife, Grace.

The wooden, four-story seminary, from which the park is named, was completed and furnished without debt in 1890 for . A dedication ceremony was held on June 12, 1890, which included hymnal performances from a choir of parishioners from across the city. A biblical passage was read that symbolized the seminary's educational purpose and location "from the highest point of the city". The opening of the school included four staff members, who roomed at the seminary, and classes were provided for drawing, music, and printing.

Access to the school was accorded by horse and buggy up a steep, planked pathway. The schoolhouse contained a music room and classrooms to educate up to 36 students who could be boarded at the seminary. The basement, or bottom floor, contained two bathrooms, a dining room, kitchen, laundry room, and a "wood room". The interior was noted to be detailed in oiled and varnished "natural" wood.

Despite reports that the school "attracted students from throughout the Northwest", the seminary struggled financially, closing years later. The seminary was temporarily reopened in 1900 after receiving a new endowment; the school once again closed in a few years, perhaps in 1905, after continuing "lack of support" and difficulties in accessibility. During the seminary's closures, it may have been briefly used as a residential home and for a time, was placed on the city's tax roll.

The seminary was converted into a hospital after it was purchased in August 1905 by local doctor, J.H. Dumon. Planned to be the "largest and most up-to-date" healthcare facility between Portland and Seattle, the revamp of the school and was expected to cost and include a power plant for the lighting system, steam heat, and an ambulance service.

The structure became known as the Centralia General Hospital by 1911, where the building and of the property were sold that April for . A group of twenty sawmills in Southwest Washington purchased the hospital to provide healthcare for their employees. An elevator was added to the east side of the seminary building and a new public hospital was initiated in July 1918; begun under incorporation, two of the main investors of the effort were local doctors, Lee Scace and W.A. Smith.

The hospital closed and the building was mostly abandoned, considered "idle" since approximately 1920. Falling into disrepair, the porches were removed, and the structure was proposed for demolition in July 1930 as it was considered a fire hazard. Those who volunteered to undertake the demolition were allowed to keep any salvageable lumber. By September of that year, most of the building had been removed. All that remained was the elevator shaft and a few sections of the lower floor. The surviving portions were eventually torn down in 1938. Historical recollections often mention that the structure was set on fire as part of the removal, but a lack of archaeological evidence does not support the account. The grounds became the site of the Centralia Armory, a National Guard base. By 1970, no trace of Grace Seminary could be found.

Logging and the harvest of timber on the hill began in 1900. The grounds were later purchased that decade by the city, constructing two concrete reservoirs during the 1910s. In 1919, Governor Louis F. Hart announced that that the summit of Seminary Hill was to be the location of a newly constructed normal school, or state college. Though money was appropriated by the Washington State Legislature in 1921, the bill was vetoed by Governor Louis F. Hart, leaving little money to the city to build a college. As attempts to repeal the veto were ongoing, planning continued into 1923. The legislature during the time approved and funded the purchase of additional acreage on the hill for the school but the repeal failed. The state "disposed of the land" on Seminary Hill that was purchased or donated for the college, but no deed was filed or transferred. The confusion, which led to decades of Centralia and Washington state legislative difficulties regarding attempted city improvements on the hillside, was not fully corrected until the title was properly cleared in 1963.

Seminary Hill was used in an advertising campaign of a Rhode Island Oldsmobile dealership in 1923. The "power of the Oldsmobile Four engine" was noted to shatter hill climbing records for automobiles, from "Corey Hill at Boston to Seminary Hill" in Centralia. The steepness and terrain of the hill was also used to promote an Oakland 8 automobile in 1930. Reaching speeds up to 25 miles per hour, the vehicle, driven by Centralia's police chief, made the trip up the landform "apparently without effort".

Centralia Tragedy During the events of the Centralia Tragedy, Seminary Hill was used as a fallback and sniper position for at least three members of the International Workers of the World (IWW). An IWW member, Loren Roberts, admitted in a confession that he and two other men were part of the group and all were armed. The name of one of the men was unknown to him and the other was known as Loughtenoff, who went under the alias, Hansen. The men were ordered to the hill by Wesley Everest and they were to return fire if the men heard the sound of gunshots.

The group climbed the hill to their positions by one o'clock that afternoon. Allegedly, the unnamed Wobbly was Eugene Barnett, who was armed with a rifle and positioned approximately away from the city's downtown core; Barnett is credited with shooting and killing American Legionnaire Warren Grimm, who died instantly. Additional gunfire from the entrenched IWW position on the hill towards other Legionnaires during the event was reported. Although Roberts admitted to firing five shots, he mentioned in the same confession that he "took no part in the shooting". At the end of the incident, the men immediately left their positions, reported as approximately southwest of the reservoir on the hill, with Roberts hiding in a field of brush across from his home; the other two IWW members were reported to abscond with their firearms to a shack owned by Hansen in Hanaford Valley. Twelve shell casings during the investigation of the tragedy were found on the hill.

Reservoirs

An embankment reservoir owned by the Centralia Water Company existed upon the hill by 1904. Efforts to enlarge the structure, to "endeavor to comply with the demands of the city", began in June 1904. The following year, the reservoir was found to be in "filthy condition" after concerns over foul-smelling, discolored water from residential homes. Often found to be near empty, broken fences were also noted, which allowed boys access to swim in the containment area. Poor conditions continued into 1911, requiring a boil-water advisory after the waters were inundated with insects and possible bacterial growth that was suspected to be a leading cause of an increase in cholera and typhus cases within the city.

The water company built a reservoir next to the existing retention pond in 1909 and the combined gravity-fed water supply of , considered in perfect condition the following year, was kept "ample" after 25 wells were dug. A new reservoir was built in 1914 and was reported to be operational by the end of the year.

The city began the construction of "another" reservoir, capable of holding , in 1920; the new basin was meant to hold water for use during fires. The construction of a reservoir, to be located next to the 1920 retention structure, was announced in July 1925 and was initially estimated to cost . Construction began the following month under contractor, Frank Knowles, with a reduced cost of . By October, the Centralia Citizen's Committee began to investigate the purchase price of the land for the reservoir, the argument being that "too much money was paid" and the amount of land needed for the project to be excessive.

Two reservoirs were built, each approximately deep. In 1934, to provide additional sources of water for Centralia, wells were dug on Seminary Hill. At a depth of , the boring attempt struck a -thick vein of lignite coal. After 1000 feet, the effort was halted after no water was found.