Wesley Everest - The Centralia Massacre

The Centralia Massacre

During the celebration of Armistice Day in 1919, members of the American Legion stormed the IWW Union Hall, although it is debated who initiated the incident. The American Legion claimed that they were fired upon before they attacked the hall. The IWW claimed that the Legion attacked before they fired. The result was a fight that resulted in deaths of six men, while others were wounded. After firing from inside the IWW hall, Everest ran out the back door and was pursued by a mob. He killed Dale Hubbard before he was overpowered, beaten, and dragged to the town's jail. It was said that, during the incident, Everest uttered the words, "I fought for democracy in France and I'm going to fight for it here. The first man that comes in this hall, why, he's going to get it."

During the evening of November 11, Everest was turned over to the lynch mob by jail guards, taken to a bridge over the Chehalis River, lynched and then shot. The next day his body was cut down and lay in the river bottom until sunset, when his body was returned to the jail. There it lay with the rope still around his neck, in full view of the IWW members rounded up after the shootings. Later his body was buried in the paupers graveyard. No one was charged with the crime even if those involved in the lynching were well-known to townsfolk in Centralia.

As a result of the shootings, seven IWW members were sentenced to prison terms of 25 to 40 years. The last prisoner was released in 1939.