Lewis

Formed December 19, 1845 (2^nd county)

Lewis County (75,455), Chehalis (7,259), Centralia (16,336)

The tan brick Neo-Classical courthouse was erected in 1927.  It is located on Main Street between Pacific and Chehalis avenues.  The location is six blocks northeast of Interstate Highway 5.  The building was renovated in 2002.  J. DeForest Griffin provided the designs.  A Justice Center was added in 1977.  There was an early wooden courthouse followed by a 1901 brick courthouse previously.  Claquato was the first county seat until 1873 when Chehalis assumed the role.  Lewis County was created on December 19, 1845 as an original county (2^nd county.)  It is named for explorer Meriwether Lewis.  The county seat name was derived from the Native American word for “sand.” 

Lewis County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Three Superior Court Judges and Two District Court Judges serve Lewis County.  The county is in the southwest part of Washington.  Seattle, Washington is north and Portland, Oregon is south of the county.  The county center is 23.7 miles East of Chehalis near Cinebar.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Thurston, Pierce, Yakima, Skamania, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Pacific, and Grays Harbor counties. 

The area of the county is 2436 square miles.  It is 8 out of 39 in the state.  It ranks 16 out of 39 in population in the state.  It has a density of 30.97 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 39 in the state.  Lewis County has 40.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 5 crosses through the county from north to south from Thurston County to Cowlitz County.  United States Highway 12 enters from Yakima County, east, and joins Interstate Highway 5 to exit north into Thurston County.  The county is an overall rectangular shape.  Chehalis is located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Centralia is near the northwest border of the county.  Chehalis is the county seat and Centralia is the largest city.  Chehalis is 9.6% of the county population while Centralia is 21.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced SHE-HAE-LIS.  The largest city is pronounced SEN-TRAL-YA.  This county is in the Centralia Micropolitan Statistical Area.