They say history always repeats itself, so when two ideologies clashed in 1919 in southwest Washington, it would be yet another tale as old as time, where such a conflict would ultimately end in violence. In poetic irony, on Armistice Day, November 11, 1919, a day dedicated to commemorating peace, conflict would erupt into a brutal battle between the anti-Bolshevik American Legion and the revolutionary union leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World, or IWW – better known as the Wobblies. The event would mark a dark day in the city’s history, forever to be grimly known as the Centralia Massacre.
Growing Pains of Industrial Workers in the New Century
Economic depression, war, and rapid urbanization alongside rampant poverty were familiar. This volatile mix of social and economic pressures formed the backdrop for the rise of radical labor movements like that of the Industrial Workers of the World. In an era of massive and oftentimes dangerous manual labor in timber, mining, construction, shipbuilding and the like, the onset of World War I would only add fuel to the fire. Labor unrest would spread rampant across the Northwest as wages were held down by the war effort.
Union members of all kinds would rally in demand of better conditions and higher wages when the war ended, with future visions of a united working class that would ultimately abolish the wage system while destroying the class system. From this newfound philosophy of what could only be described as “revolutionary industrial unionism,” the Wobblies emerged in Chicago in 1905.
They began organizing miners, lumberjacks, and shingle workers across the Pacific Northwest, gaining traction in logging camps where they recruited a significant number of members. Buoyed by their success in the forests, IWW organizers turned their attention to urban laborers, hoping to extend their influence into the cities.
However, the urban landscape would prove a much more hostile environment for such radical ideals as they were met head-on with a coordinated campaign of active suppression from business interests and local authorities, along with organized resistance from established union powers. Viewing the IWW’s radicalism as a direct threat, their concentrated opposition would set the stage for a series of tragic events that remain a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences of a capitalist system that values profit over people.
The Wobblies Take Their Labor Movement Across Washington
As the Wobblies made their way through Pacific Northwest cities, their organizing efforts illuminated the delicate friction between the vision the initial settlers had for the region – a vision of rugged individualism and resource exploitation – and the evolving needs of the denizens of the burgeoning urban and industrial centers.
The tension first boiled over in Spokane in late 1908 when the IWW’s protests against exploitative employment agencies prompted the city to enact an ordinance banning street meetings and public rallies. It was made clear that this was a direct attack on the Wobblies’ organizing efforts when the ordinance was quickly amended to allow the Salvation Army to speak and hold meetings in public. The IWW’s first free-speech fight in Spokane was officially underway. As Washington’s laboring workers watched on, the labor movement found itself gaining momentum as it spread across the state.
After passive-resistance tactics proved effective in Spokane, the Wobblies’ growing influence did not go unnoticed. Anti-union forces watched on warily, and the rising tension would eventually give way to violent suppression in the form of unthinkable tragedy, first with the Everett Massacre and later the Centralia Massacre.
The First Wobblies in Centralia
Centralia’s reaction to the arrival of 47 unemployed IWW members in 1914 offered a glimpse into the growing anxieties surrounding the labor movement. Jobless and homeless, the men came to the city seeking food and shelter. Instead, they were met with immediate hostility and a swift expulsion by newly deputized Centralia residents as they marched the Wobblies out of town and to the local fairgrounds.
All men would go peacefully, but eight would return a short time later to explain that the men were hungry and that they would return to town, whether or not they were welcomed. When they made their return, they were true to their word and only helped themselves to food from the local stores, but still, the deputized men walked the Wobblies out of town, this time to neighboring Chehalis, where police there escorted them the rest of the way and out of the city.
Already, Centralia had made a bad first impression, and the passage of time would do little to improve relations between the residents of the conservation small-town and the Wobblies. The organization’s opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I, based on the belief that domestic labor issues should take precedence, was widely seen as unpatriotic, if not outright treason, and was an unwelcomed sentiment to residents who didn’t want these unsavory radicals in their town.
The First Industrial Workers of the World Hall in Centralia
Despite local opposition, the IWW established a hall in Centralia in 1917. These halls were crucial for the organization, as many members were homeless and relied on them for communication and community. However, the IWW was quickly evicted once the landlord discovered he had rented the space to these “unpatriotic radicals.” Undeterred, they secured a new location, recognizing Centralia’s strategic location within the lumber industry and choosing to stay to better serve members.
They opened a new union hall in the spring of 1918, but their newfound home wouldn’t last long. When the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, the business owners and American Legion members in Centralia would let their fear of the Wobblies’ ideologies reign supreme. On April 30, a planned attack was made against the IWW during a Red Cross parade when some marchers broke away and stormed their union hall, with the building left severely damaged in the aftermath.
Amid the chaos, IWW members were thrown out into the street and beaten by both Centralia business owners and their allegedly hired muscle. Some members were even rounded up and taken to the outskirts of town, and similar to the events preceding the Everett Massacre, these men were forced to run the gauntlet between the lines of their attackers, who continued to beat them. They were warned not to return, but the Wobblies vowed they would never be evicted again.
A Showdown Ensues on Armistice Day in Centralia
This deep-seated hostility would set the backdrop for the new hall’s opening in 1919 at the old Roderick Hotel. The expectation of another raid was so pervasive it became a matter of “when,” not “if.” Understandably concerned, the Wobblies, on the advice of sympathetic lawyer Elmer Smith, attempted to garner public support by distributing a leaflet detailing their fears. However, this effort had little impact on public opinion in Centralia.
The expectation quickly solidified that the raid would coincide with the November 11, 1919, Armistice Day parade, likely mirroring the tactics used during the Red Cross parade. This patriotic event, emphasizing uniforms and flags, seemed the perfect opportunity. So confident was the building owner of an impending attack that he even sought police protection, but his pleas were met with empty promises.
Fearing no other option, the IWW decided they had no choice but to place men armed with pistols within their hall so that they could defend themselves from the possibility of another raid. Sadly, this decision would later be used against the Wobblies in the aftermath of the tragedy, with Centralia residents portraying the IWW’s arming themselves as a deceptive tactic, done under the guise of self-preservation, while intentionally looking for a fight so that they may even the score, this time with bloodshed.
Lives are Lost During the Centralia Tragedy
Centralia’s 1919 Armistice Day celebration kicked off with the usual fanfare one would expect for a celebration designed to honor the first anniversary of World War I ending. And as the parade unevenly snaked its way through Centralia, the Chehalis contingent of the American Legion marched past the IWW hall first, seemingly without incident. However, the procession faltered as the Centralia contingent began to catch up. A distinct pause occurred just before the hall, followed by Legion Post Commander Warren Grimm’s ordering his troops to “Halt. Close up.” The front ranks then began to mark time, holding their position.
The American Legion claimed that the realignment of ranks gave IWW member Eugene Barnett, positioned in the Avalon Hotel, a clear line of sight to Grimm. According to their retelling of the day’s events, the Centralia Massacre kicked off with Barnett firing a rifle shot at Grimm, with the American Legion stating that the bullet caught Grimm in the chest and passed through his body. Then, a .22 caliber bullet, reportedly from Seminary Hill over 500 yards away, instantly killed Legionnaire McElfresh. They managed to drag the mortally wounded Grimm to the sidewalk while further shots rained down. Caught between certain death in the open and the unknown dangers within, the Legionnaires claimed they had no choice but to storm the Roderick Hotel and nearby structures.
The IWW’s version of events painted a different picture. They maintained that the Legionnaires’ pause was not a simple realignment but a prelude to an attack. A small group, possibly under Grimm’s direction, broke ranks and charged the Roderick Hotel, allegedly intending to repeat the previous year’s raid. The Wobblies, believing their lives were in danger, fired in self-defense as the first wave breached the entrance. Grimm was then fatally shot at the doorway while leading a second charge, and McElfresh was subsequently hit by John Doe Davis, who was one of the few Wobblies to never be captured in the aftermath of the events.
The ensuing battle would be etched in history by many names—the Armistice Day Riot, the Centralia Massacre, the Centralia Tragedy—each a fitting descriptor for a day marked by violence and bloodshed as it claimed the lives of six men and left many others severely wounded.
As more Legionnaires stormed the hall, overwhelming the defenders, Wobbly Wesley Everest fled through the back. He escaped the Roderick Hotel, firing at his pursuers as he ran and reloaded. Legionnaire Alva Coleman, armed with a nonfunctional revolver taken from a captured Wobbly or a nearby house, gave chase. After being wounded by Everest, Coleman passed the revolver to Legionnaire Dale Hubbard, a renowned athlete, who caught up with Everest as he attempted to cross the Skookumchuck River. Hubbard, pointing the useless revolver at Everest, demanded his surrender. Whether Hubbard knew the gun was empty is unknown, but Everest likely assumed it was loaded. Unable to cross the river, Everest turned and shot and killed Hubbard before being captured, beaten, and jailed.
While Everest was being captured, the union hall was emptied, its contents being dragged into the street and burned. The IWW’s membership list was found inside and delivered to the town prosecutor. It was used to round up Wobblies, who were then taken to jail. Also among those incarcerated was Elmer Smith, the local lawyer who had advised the Wobblies but had not participated in the violence.
The Centralia Day Massacre Continues: The Lynching of Wesley Everest
Upon capture, Everest was marched back into town, coming face to face with a group of citizens who tried to lynch him on the spot. Their attempts were thwarted as he was united with the already jailed Wobblies.
By nightfall on Armistice Day, public hysteria at the day’s events had reached a fever pitch, and the now large, hostile mob began to circle outside the jailhouse. A plan was devised to exploit the darkness as the electric power to Centralia was deliberately cut, and American Legionnaires ordered drivers to shut off their headlights. When the lights were out, the mob broke into the prison and abducted Wesley Everest after he was identified as the Wobbly who had killed Hubbard.
Everest was taken to the Mellen Street Bridge over the Chehalis River and lynched. The next morning, his body was cut down and abandoned in the river bottom. In a further act of desecration, his body was returned to the jail that evening, still bearing the hanging rope around his neck. The only two local morticians refused to take custody of the remains, leaving Everest’s body to lie on the jail floor adjacent to the cell housing the imprisoned Wobblies. They were given the task of building a coffin and burying their comrade.
Aftermath of the Centralia Massacre
The captured Wobblies were tried for murder in Grays Harbor County in a trial that garnered national attention. The initial verdicts included two acquittals, one not guilty by reason of insanity, two convictions for third-degree murder, and five for second-degree murder. Judge John Wilson rejected the third-degree murder verdicts due to their legal invalidity, as Washington law did not recognize such a charge.
Following further jury deliberation, the verdict for these two prisoners was changed. In the end, seven Wobblies were convicted and sentenced to 25 to 40 years in prison, a punishment that, in the words of author Tom Copeland, “shocked both the jury and the prisoners.” This judgment was later unanimously affirmed by the Washington Supreme Court in April 1921 after the IWW members attempted to appeal their lengthy sentences. Further adding to the controversy, within two years, seven of the 12 jurors repudiated their guilty verdict, asserting a profound belief that they had been prevented from hearing all the evidence.
As for the murder of Wesley Everest or the raid on the IWW union hall on Armistice Day that would ultimately usher in the Centralia Tragedy, not a single soul was ever charged for either crime. Initially, city prosecutor Herman Allen had said he would prosecute the lynching if provided the evidence, but no such proof was ever gathered for a case.
Over time, tensions subsided, and Elmer Smith took it upon himself to lead a public campaign for the prisoners’ release. By 1930, one prisoner had died in jail, and another had been released. Releases continued in 1931 and 1932, with one prisoner paroled each year. In 1933, newly elected Democratic Governor Clarence D. Martin commuted or pardoned the sentences of three more convicted Wobblies. The final prisoner, who maintained his innocence, was finally granted commutation to time served in 1939, thanks to the efforts of State Senator Mary Farquharson.
Today, the Centralia Massacre serves as a grim reminder of the brutal struggles faced by workers in their fight for fair treatment and a voice in the industrial landscape. As a day set to honor peace erupted into violence, the ensuing bloodshed exposed the deep-seated tensions between labor and management. The subsequent injustices, including the lynching of Wesley Everest and the questionable trial of his fellow Wobblies, highlight the fragility of justice in times of social unrest and the enduring importance of protecting civil liberties. As we remember the events on the fateful Centralia Armistice Day of 1919, we are reminded of the importance of the continued advocacy for fair labor practices, if only to ensure that history does not, once again, repeat itself.
