1: Northern Pacific Railroad Depot - 1912, 599 Northwest Front Way

City of Chehalis Washington Official Website

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This Mission Revival style building was built in 1912 as the principal passenger and freight station for the Northern Pacific Railroad. The site on which the depot is located achieved historical significance long ago. In anticipation of a reception for President McKinley, a giant stump, cut from a tree logged near Pe Ell, Washington, was placed at the site, and was to serve as a speaker’s platform for the President who ultimately did not make the visit. However, on May 23, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech from this now famous podium. In 1908, presidential nominee, Eugene Debs, a Socialist, spoke from the stump. Later, although not yet President, William Howard Taft also spoke from the stump, as did vice presidential nominee, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1920, who would later become president.

Grievances with the railroad lay dormant for almost 60 years, until the railroad, then Burlington Northern, announced plans to close the Chehalis depot in 1972. When that generation of Chehalis citizens approached railroad officials with a proposal to convert the building into a museum, the railroad was adamant in its determination to demolish the building. Frustrated citizens led by James Backman succeeded in placing the building on the National Register of Historic Places and waged a three-year war to preserve the depot with the help of U.S. Senators Warren Magnuson and Henry Jackson. Finally, in 1975, Burlington Northern agreed to lease the building to Lewis County. Community fund raising eventually brought the desired $50,000 for renovations needed to convert the building to the Lewis County Historical Museum. It remains a proud statement to the heritage of the area.