[7] In the 1850s and 1860s, Centralia's Borst Home, at the confluence of the Chehalis and Skookumchuck Rivers, was the site of a toll ferry, and the halfway stopping point for stagecoaches operating between Kalama, Washington and Tacoma.

Washington (despite facing racial prejudice from some newcomers) made personal loans and forgave debt to keep the town afloat until the economy stabilized; the city then boomed again based on the coal, lumber and dairying industries.

The early morning blaze, which began at the Star Saloon, caused the loss of twelve buildings but only one person was reported injured.

IWW workers including recently returned WWI veteran Wesley Everest, stood their ground, engaged and killed four Legionnaires.

[15] Located off Interstate 5 is Plummer Lake, a small body of water caused by the excavation of glacial rock for gravel purposes beginning in 1910.

[24] The Port of Centralia, created in 1986 and located northwest of the city center near Fords Prairie, is a complex of industrial and mixed-use economic development in the municipality.

[25] As extractive industries faced decline, Centralia's development refocused on freeway oriented food, lodging, retail and tourism, as well as regional shipping and warehousing facilities, leading to 60 percent growth in population since the 1980s.[when?

][citation needed] Additional development of regional distribution and transportation facilities, along with in-migration from retirees from more populated counties to the north, have helped diversify the economy, though unemployment remains stubbornly high and per-capita income well below the state average.

The company offered land donations to the city, as well as financial contributions to the local community to offset economic losses, in the wake of the closure.

[37] Centralia Union Depot was built in 1912 and features red brick architecture, vintage oak benches, and internal and external woodworking throughout.

The house was constructed near a toll ferry crossing that existed at the time and the home site contains a replicated one-room schoolhouse and a church.

[39] Centralia is host to various other NRHP sites including the George E. Birge House, the Hubbard Bungalow, and the Wesley Everest Gravesite.

[49][50] Damages from windstorms decimated the screens and a fire in 2023, declared to be most likely arson, burned down the remaining building on the property, the ticket booth that also housed the projectors.

Beginning as a troupe performance at a ballroom of the local historic Lewis and Clark Building, it raised funds by selling $5 non-redeemable stock to patrons for its first production, Sabrina Fair.

[61] As of 2023[update], the Evergreen Playhouse, a non-profit, volunteer-run theater,[62] has achieved to operate without a financial loss during its entirety, and has remained at the same location near the downtown district on Center Street.

[63] A bicycle event for local residents in the Twin Cities, known as the Centralia to Chehalis Bike Ride, was held continuously from the late 20th century into the 3rd millennium.

[65] Recreational areas include sports related ballfields or water parks, and the city designates certain locations, such as buildings and other open spaces, as special facilities.

Centralia would regain possession of the pool in 2008 but closed it in 2011 due to a combination of expensive repairs and maintenance, lack of funds, and a decrease in staffing.

[77] Unable to cover approximately $5 million renovation and rebuild costs, the city council, in 2023, decided to permanently cease operations at the pool.

Visitors can fish from the river banks or access the waters via a boat launch, or at the park's Borst Lake, which is stocked with rainbow trout.

The hub contains enclosed buildings that house numerous volleyball and basketball courts and fields for indoor baseball and soccer.

[88] Centralia's leading newspaper is The Chronicle, ranked seventeenth in the state based on weekday circulation,[89] and serves most of Lewis County.

The city, beginning in 1961, was once a co-owner of the airfield[90] but withdrew from the joint operating agreement in 2004 due to concerns over contract violations, liability, and cost-benefits.

Opened in August 1927 to 10,000 spectators and an aerial performance, the airport quietly folded by the mid-1930s reportedly due to hardships caused by the Great Depression.

[93] Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Centralia station, stopping at the town's renovated 1912 railroad depot.

Amtrak train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Centralia at 11:45am with service to Kelso-Longview, Portland, Sacramento, Emeryville, California (with bus connection to San Francisco), and Los Angeles.

Amtrak train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, is scheduled to depart Centralia at 5:57pm daily with service to Olympia-Lacey, Tacoma and Seattle.

Amtrak Cascades trains, operating as far north as Vancouver, British Columbia and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, serve Centralia several times daily in both directions.

[95] Centralia built a wastewater treatment facility beginning in 2001 that is located on 300 acres (120 ha) in the Ford's Prairie neighborhood near the Discovery Trail.

Begun from a Washington Department of Ecology loan that eventually cost almost $27 million, the facility replaced an at-capacity treatment plant built in 1951 near Mellen Street.