Lewis County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 82,149. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

- Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.

History

The county was created as Vancouver County on December 19, 1845, by the

Provisional Government of Oregon The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected settler government created in the Oregon Country (1818-1846), in the Pacific Northwest region of the western portion of the continent of North America. Its formation had been advanced ...

, named for

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

. In 1849, the county name was changed to honor

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

. At the time, the county included all U.S. lands north of the Cowlitz River, including much of the

Puget Sound region The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Despite the county being named for him, Meriwether Lewis never traveled in the present-day boundaries of Lewis County. The initial establishment of a county seat was Claquato in 1862, the honor being relinquished in 1874 in favor of Chehalis. The first recognized court hearing in the

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

was held in Lewis County at the John R. Jackson Courthouse, the oldest standing courthouse in Washington. The county received official recognition as a "

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

County" in November 2019.

Geography

Lewis County sits along the

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

corridor. Lewis shares a border with eight other counties. Clockwise from the top left, those are:

Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state, in the United States. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the last ice age, when sea levels flooded the ...

, Thurston, Pierce, Yakima, Skamania, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, and

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

counties. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. One of the world's tallest

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

trees was in the town of Mineral within Lewis County, attaining a height of .

Geographic features

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

* Chehalis River and three of its tributaries, the South Fork Chehalis River, Newaukum River, the Skookumchuck River, along with several major creeks including Centralia's China Creek. * Cowlitz River and its tributaries, including the Ohanapecosh River, Cispus River, and Tilton River. * Nisqually River * Lake Mayfield * Riffe Lake * Big Horn, the highest point in Lewis county * Boistfort Peak, the highest point in the Willapa Hills * Walupt Creek Falls

Major highways

U.S. Route 12 * WA-6

State Route 6 * WA-7

State Route 7

Adjacent counties

* Grays Harbor County – north/northwest * Thurston County – north * Pierce County – north/northeast * Yakima County – east * Skamania County – south/southeast * Cowlitz County – south * Wahkiakum County – south/southwest * Pacific County – west

National protected areas

* Gifford Pinchot National Forest (part) * Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (part) *

Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...

(part) * Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (part) * Goat Rocks Wilderness (part)

Communities

Cities

* Centralia * Chehalis (county seat) * Morton * Mossyrock * Napavine * Toledo * Vader * Winlock

Town

* Pe Ell

Census-designated places

* Fords Prairie *

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

* Onalaska * Packwood

Unincorporated communities

* Adna *

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

* Boistfort *

Bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

* Cinebar *

Curtis Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

* Doty *

Dryad A dryad (; , sing. ) is an oak tree nymph or oak tree spirit in Greek mythology; ''Drys'' (δρῦς) means "tree", and more specifically " oak" in Greek. Today the term is often used to refer to tree nymphs in general. Types Daphnaie Thes ...

* Ethel * Evaline *

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

* Galvin * Glenoma *

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

* Klaber * Lacamas * Littell * Mary's Corner * Mayfield * McCormick * Meskill * Newaukum *

Randle Randle, as a surname or a given name, may refer to: Surname * Betsy Randle (born 1955), American actress * Bill Randle (1923–2004), American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor * Brian Randle (born 1985), American NBA coach and basketba ...

* Saint Urban * Salkum * Silver Creek * Swofford * Wildwood * Wilson * Winston

Former communities

* Burnt Ridge * Ceres * Cora * Kopiah * Kosmos (inundated) * Lindberg * Mendota * Nesika (inundated) * Riffe (inundated) * Walville

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 Census, there were 75,455 people, 29,743 households, and 20,104 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 34,050 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county's population: 89.7% white, 1.4% American Indian, 0.9% Asian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 4.0% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.1% were German, 14.9% were Irish, 12.5% were English, 7.7% were American, and 5.1% were Norwegian. Of the 29,743 households, 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were non-families, and 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 41.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,874 and the median income for a family was $53,358. Males had a median income of $43,695 versus $31,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,695. About 10.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 Census, there were 68,600 people, 26,306 households, and 18,572 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 29,585 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.38%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.22% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.18%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.55% from other races, and 2.01% from two or more races. 5.37% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 18.7% were of German, 11.8%

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

or American, 11.1% English, 8.7% Irish and 5.7% Norwegian ancestry. There were 26,306 households, 31.60% of which had resident children under age 18, 55.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 24.00% of households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.02. The age distribution of the county's population: 26.50% under age 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% at or over age 65. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,511, and the median income for a family was $41,105. Males had a median income of $35,714 versus $23,453 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,082. About 10.40% of families and 14.00% of the population were below the

, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Homelessness

Lewis County participates in the Point In Time Count (PTC), a

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the homeless population as required by law. Beginning in 2003 as mandated by the

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and u ...

(HUD), the annual PTC, which tracks the number of individuals and families experiencing

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

on a specified date, is usually held in January. Homeless residents in the county were listed as 309 in 2012, falling to 205 in 2013. A count in 2018 reported 132 homeless residents, and following counts reported 161 in 2019, 142 in 2020, 120 in 2022, and 153 in 2023. There was no census of homeless residents taken in 2021. Students and children under the age of 18 who are described as, "in an overnight accommodation insecure situation", are not officially recorded as part of the PTC, however a count in 2018 reported 558 students who meet the qualifications to be listed as homeless.

Government and politics

National level

In modern times, Lewis County is the most conservative county in western Washington. It is significantly more Republican than adjacent counties. Unlike much of western Washington, it has a strong tinge of

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...

. In 2000,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

received over 60% of the county's vote. In 2008

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

defeated

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

by a margin of over 19% — his only victory in a county west of the Cascades. McCain lost all the neighboring counties except Yakima. Since Washington's statehood in 1889 only three Democratic presidential candidates have carried the county –

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

in 1896,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

three times in 1932, 1936 and 1940, plus

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

in 1964. All told, as of , 20 of the last 21 Republican presidential tickets successfully carried Lewis County, the only exception being that of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

who lost to the aforementioned Johnson. It is part of Washington's 3rd congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez since 2023.

Gubernatorial races

In the 1970s, Democratic candidates for governor won the county, but this was something of an anomaly. The last Democratic candidate for Governor to win the county was Booth Gardner in 1984.

State representation

The county's government is the 20th district of the state. It is represented solely by Republicans. *Senator John Braun—Republican *Representative Peter Abbarno—Position 1, Republican *Representative Ed Orcutt—Position 2, Republican

County level

The county's government is solely Republican. *Lewis County Assessor: Dianne Dorey—R *Lewis County Auditor: Larry E. Grove—R *Lewis County Clerk: Scott Tinney—R *Coroner Warren Mcleod—R *Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney: Jonathan Meyer—R *Lewis County Sheriff: Rob Snaza—R *Lewis County Treasurer: Arny Davis—R Commissioners *Sean D. Swope, District #1—R *Dr. Lindsey Pollock, District #2—R *Scott J. Brummer, District #3—R

Law enforcement

The Lewis County Sherriff's Department contains a Marine Patrol Unit. Patrolling several waterways in the county, including Riffe Lake and the Cowlitz River, the unit investigates boating accidents while providing water safety education, with an emphasis on the inspections of watercraft.

Economy

Lumber production is a staple of the economy in Lewis County. The county annually produces of dried timber while hosting 10 pulpwood production plants. Due to the region's biomass production capabilities, the county was the first in the state to receive a Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone rating of AA by the BDO Zone Initiative. Lewis County is a leading producer of Christmas trees in the United States, with a yield of over 548,000 trees in 2022, which ranked sixth in the country. A leading economic producer for the county is farming, with the region also holding large numbers for employment in mining, production, and warehousing. Tourism is a large part of the Lewis County economy. In 2023, over 5.6 million people visited the county, an increase of 5.8% over the prior year. Over 45% of visitors came from outside the state and the most visited areas include Mt. Rainier and the shopping districts in the

twin cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

of Centralia and Chehalis. In collaboration with Discover Lewis County, a county-created tourism initiative, and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County, the county has focused on merchandise and online marketing, specifically promoting each town and city within its borders. Reports from 2019-2020 list wages and incomes to be less than the state averages, with the median annual wages to be over $48,000 and a total household income of under $59,000. Unemployment is perennially moderately higher than the state average, though boom years in large Lewis County economic sectors can influence the employment levels. , women held 48.6% of jobs in the county primarily in finance, health care, and education, where men held majority employment in such industries as construction, manufacturing, and utility jobs.

Arts and culture

Art

The county is home to the ARTrails of Southwest Washington initiative. The cooperative, begun in 2003, showcases local artists, art studios and galleries throughout the region, and holds an annual autumnal studio tour that incorporates events in smaller towns within Lewis County. The Lewis County Historical Museum hosts a permanent ARTrails gallery. and Centralia is home to the nexus of the event and an ARTrails-owned gallery.

Charitable organizations

The Lewis County branch of the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

(AAUW) has been in existence since 1923. The organization has held an annual used book sale since 1979. The proceeds help to fund scholarships, day camps, film festivals, and career days for young women in middle and high school.

Education

The county is home to Centralia College, founded in 1925. Located in the middle of Centralia, it is the oldest continuously operating community college in the state.

Parks and recreation

, Lewis County directly oversees of parks. Recreation areas and sites under the auspices of the Lewis County Parks and Recreation Department include Adna's Back Memorial Park and Rose Parks, Centralia's Schaefer County Park, Claquato Church, Cowlitz River Park (Packwood Park), South County Regional Park in Toledo, and St. Urban Church. The county honors the travels of pioneer

Ezra Meeker Ezra Morgan Meeker (December 29, 1830December 3, 1928) was an American pioneer who traveled the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon as a young man, migrating from Iowa to the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. Later in life he worked to ...

on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

with several historical markers throughout the region. The Lewis County Historic Bike Ride is an annual, mid-spring fundraising event that began as a county-held historic celebration in the early 1990s. The ride starts in Mary's Corner and through a variety of course options, participants can travel to several small towns and communities in the county and can bike through Centralia and Chehalis. The route is often used as a warm-up by riders of the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic (STP). In 2010, the county declared that all parks under its jurisdiction were to be "No Shooting Zones".

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Beginning in June 2025, ambulance services are provided by Medix Ambulance under county contract, replacing American Medical Response (AMR). The prior contract with AMR evolved from a joint initiative with St. Helens Hospital and a local emergency provider known as City Ambulance that began in May 1982.

Utilites

The Lewis County Public Utility District (LCPUD) provides electricity to the county. In 2024, the LCPUD became a

broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, offering high-speed internet to the region via a federal grant. The project, meant specifically for rural residents in the county, is expected to be completed in late 2027.

Renewable energy

In late 2023, the county was announced as part of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub (PNW H2) initiative through the U.S. Department of Energy. Lewis County would be utilized for the production and storage of hydrogen fuels, including the potential manufacturing of related hydrogen fuel products, such as vehicles and fuel cells. The PNW H2 has provided grants to several economic and educational areas in the county, including funding to school districts, Centralia College,

Puget Sound Energy Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.2 million customers in I ...

(PSE), and various renewable energy companies. Lewis County Transit was awarded a grant from the program, becoming the only transit agency in the United States to receive funding from the hub program. Lewis County is the location of the Skookumchuck Wind Farm which contains 38

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s that can generate a maximum of . The site became operational in late 2020 and the energy produced is used through PSE's Green Direct program.

References

External links

Lewis County – official website

Discover Lewis County

Economic Alliance of Lewis County
{{authority control 1845 establishments in Oregon Country Populated places established in 1845 Western Washington