The Wealthy Pioneer Scammed in Centralia
George Washington, the founder of Centralia, loses $1,500 in a predatory legal scheme targeting his land title.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Friday's Centralia Chronicle contains an affidavit by George Washington which calls attention to the character of the aged Centralia pioneer, who is undoubtedly the wealthiest man in Lewis county. When the boom struck Western Washington it found George Washington the owner of a donation claim, which now includes the greater portion of this city. Mr. Swasey and Crawford came to my house on September 15 and claimed they had a secret worth thousands of dollars to me. Swasey stated that he had discovered my title was not good because I had received it by deed before the patent was issued from the United States. He told me that Dr. Minkler had found the heirs and was getting a quit claim from them to push me out of my property. I paid Swasey $1,500 for a quit claim deed to 'protect' my own land, only to find the entire premise was a fabrication to extract money from me.
“I agreed to employ Swasey and signed an agreement to that effect, which he had brought with him to be prepared.”
George Washington, a Black pioneer who founded Centralia, is a pivotal figure in Washington history. This story illustrates how the 'booster' era of the 1890s was rife with land speculators and attorneys who preyed on the insecurity of pioneer property titles.
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