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George Washington , August 15,1871 - August 26,1905, was the founder of the town of Centralia, Washington.[1] He born in 1871, in Virginia. He was African-American, and he was rasied by a white couple named Mr. and Mrs. James C. Chochran. When George was young, the Chochrans moved west, first to Ohio, then to Missouri. George became a great rifleman. He taught himself how to read. George was given full rights as a citizen, after Mr. and Mrs. James C. Chochran requested so by a special Missouri right. (No other black had these rights.) George Washington and Mr. and Mrs. Chochran moved to Oregon, hoping to find a place that made him feel free and really equal. But he could not claim the land himself, because he was black. The Chochrans claimed the land for him. George later paid them for the land. George took care of them. George started the city of Centerville (called Centralia now), on this land. He married Mary Jane Cooness (a widow). The town grew and grew. A church was built. They had a park made with some land they dedicated. They helped find food and work for the people of the town, who might have starved to death. He died at the age of 88, when Centralia had grown to a huge town. The people in Centralia had a funeral in honor of him. This George Washington is remembered as a leading African-American pioneer of the Pacific Northwest.[2]
