Lewis County, Washington

Lewis County Education, Geography, and History

Lewis County is a county located in the state of Washington. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 75,455. The county seat is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. The county was created on December 19, 1845, by the Provisional Government of Oregon, and originally named after George Vancouver. In 1849 the county was renamed after Meriwether Lewis.

Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Lewis County Name

Meriwether Lewis, the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Lewis County History

The county was created on December 19, 1845, as an original county by the Provisional Government of Oregon, and originally named after George Vancouver. In 1849 the county was renamed after Meriwether Lewis.

Lewis County in southwest Washington can truly be called the "mother of counties." Half of present-day Washington and of British Columbia were carved from its original borders. But the county's location astride the Cowlitz Trail between the Columbia River and Puget Sound meant that communities with good water access would develop first. The construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1870s and innovations in logging technology were the major spurs to settlement.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,436 square miles (6,310 km²), of which, 2,408 square miles (6,236 km²) of it is land and 29 square miles (74 km²) of it (1.18%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Grays Harbor County, Washington - north/northwest
• Thurston County, Washington - north
• Pierce County, Washington - north/northeast
• Yakima County, Washington - east
• Skamania County, Washington - south/southeast
• Cowlitz County, Washington - south
• Wahkiakum County, Washington - south/southwest
• Pacific County, Washington - west

Education

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