History
Millett Field began as a land donation to the city in 1898 from its namesake, Daniel Millett, a notable attorney and prior mayor of the city. After deeding the parcel, originally a business share of the Chehalis Land & Timber Company, Millett bought several surrounding tracts to increase the park's size. Instructions written in the original deed require the park to be used for "athletic and playground recreation types of activities".Early years (1898–1907)
The park was kept in an undeveloped state by the city however residents used the land for local baseball games, including amateur competitions sponsored by local businesses. The earliest sporting event on the grounds, a baseball game, was recorded in 1896, with large crowds in attendance reported through the remainder of the 1890s. The first recorded football game played at the park between the Chehalis and Centralia high schools, colloquially known as the "Swamp Cup" or "Thanksgiving Day Game", was in 1907. The Chehalis team would host the Swamp Cup from 1907 to 1915, then every other year until the early 1930s; Chehalis would never lose a football match to Centralia at Millett Field. Millett Field would be used as home turf for the Chehalis Bearcat's football team until 1932, moving to new grounds after flooding issues and the loss of the grandstand prohibited large crowds from attending the games.Professional baseball era (1908–1949)
An official grand opening took place on May 9, 1908, with a parade and a baseball game between the city of Chehalis and Centralia. The dedication was declared a public holiday in the city. In 1910, the field became host to theLocal ballpark years (1950–1979)
After the closing of the Timber League, baseball competitions were still held at the park into the 1970s, including amateur and semi-pro leagues, a local Babe Ruth League, girls' softball, and high school district tournaments. A Timber League revival began in 1954 though no further league games would be played at the ballpark after the late 1950s. A new fence was built in 1958 and deemed too close to home plate, with eleven home runs hit in just one week's worth of semi-pro games. Due to a railroad strike, Millett Field hosted the 1956 Northwest Regional Babe Ruth tournament that was originally planned to be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The stadium was overhauled in two days to provide an electric scoreboard, additional bleachers, and preventative measures against non-paying spectators from viewing the games. A team representing Portland, Oregon won the championship, led by future Major League All-Star, Mickey Lolich. A demand for stronger lighting at the ballpark began in earnest after the flood lights were erected in 1936. Despite continuing community efforts to raise funds, headway on the project did not emerge until 1952 when poles for the lighting were installed. The completed lighting of the field was celebrated with a dedication program in July 1953 after a strong final push to gather proceeds to complete the task. Despite the popularity of the ballpark, it was often plagued by flooding, being underwater especially in 1954 and 1961, as well as notoriously known for large quantities of mosquitos.Closure and repurpose (1979–present)
After the construction of ballfields at Recreation Park (1954) and Stan Hedwall Park (1972) in Chehalis, use of Millett Field began to decline. The grandstand and bleachers were taken down in 1979 and the playing field eventually grew over. The ballfield area was fenced off and officially closed in the mid-1990s during an ecological cleanup of a nearby factory and the surrounding area. Due to a flood in November 1986, approximately 10,000 gallons of pentachlorophenol, a protentional carcinogenic chemical used in the process of treating lumber, was leaked into the field and nearby neighborhood. The remediation was completed in 1996. The tennis courts became unkempt and an unauthorized but tolerated skate park was built on the concrete pads but was eventually removed in 2001. Nearby residents raised funds to convert the tennis courts to a fenced basketball court in the early 2000s, completing the project in 2004. An attempt in 2006 to consider the land surplus for use as a flood mitigation tool did not materialize, however a playground area, built with the cooperation of a local fitness club and the city was unveiled that year. A plaque on the tennis court enclosure, and one remaining light pole, are the only visible reminders of the field's baseball past.Features
Millett Field's home plate was positioned in the northern corner of the ballpark, with the Crossarm Mill factory, the downtown core, and Park Hill behind the grandstand. The outfield fence, at points in time temporary until made permanent in 1958, would run parallel to the train tracks. Behind center field was a small forest of trees and left field abutted the tennis courts. Millett Field had a grandstand with accompanying bleachers and the park was surrounded by a wooden fence. Three thousand people could attend ballgames when the park was first constructed, with 1,000 people able to sit in the grandstand, 500 in the bleachers, and an additional 1,500 around the fence line. The bleachers would be expanded in 1930 to seat an additional 500 more spectators and the rebuilt grandstand of 1935, though smaller in capacity than the previous stand, would accommodate up to six hundred spectators. The grandstand would be refurbished a final time in 1960. At various times in the first couple of decades of the ballfield, sections of the outfield would be temporarily reformed for local track and field events. The park, as of 2022, is enclosed in a chain link fence. The old ballfield area is closed to all visitors, with the basketball courts and playground portion the only accessible points to Millett Field. The last remaining light pole stands in a grove of trees in the southwest corner, near where the ballfield's center field would have been located.Notes
See also
*References
{{reflist Parks in Chehalis, Washington Parks in Washington (state) Negro league baseball venues 1898 establishments in Washington (state) Baseball venues in Washington (state)