The Names George and Washington

(left to right): George Washington; George Washington who founded the town of Centralia; George Washington Bush who founded a community that became Tumwater

This missive is courtesy of http://www.historylink.org, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state history

As everyone knows (at least we hope they do), our state is named for President George Washington. But there are two other people who shared that name and played large roles in regional history. On January 8, 1875, George Washington and his wife Mary Jane filed a plat in

Lewis County for a small community named Centerville. George became a leading citizen and promoter for the town, which was later renamed

Centralia. Timber and coal fueled its early development, but it was a violent

clash between World War I veterans and anti-war

Wobblies that put the town on the map in 1919.

The Washingtons weren’t the first African-Americans to found a town here. That honor goes to

George Washington Bush, a free Black from Missouri who helped

establish the future state’s first non-Native community, near

Tumwater, in 1845. Years later, Tumwater became famous as the home of the Olympia Brewing Company, makers of Olympia beer.

Speaking of beer, this week marks the anniversary of another “George” town, in this case

Georgetown. This community incorporated on

January 8, 1904, in the hopes of staying “wet” while Seattle was drying up under the influence of a growing

Prohibition movement. Georgetown drew its

water from its neighbor to the north, and Seattle’s liquor laws had the potential to cork the community’s 24-hour saloons and its

brewery. But the cost of running a municipality proved to be too great, and in 1910 Georgetown ran up the

white flag.

Georgetown, photo courtesy of GeorgetownSeattle.org
And finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the town of

George. Yes, George, Washington, the only town in the country bearing the full name of a United States president.

The Gorge Amphitheater above the Columbia River near George, Washington
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