[5] Throughout late 1800s, Washington IWW organizing efforts illuminated the friction between the vision the initial settlers had for the Northwest and the evolving needs of the denizens of the urban and industrial centers.

[7][6][8] When that ordinance was amended to allow specifically the Salvation Army to speak and hold meetings in public, the Wobblies took to the streets to defend their right to free speech.

[10] City officials and mill owners wanted to prevent the IWW from landing and further radicalizing the conflict and deployed local police to hold off any external influences.

After a series of beatings, two boats full of armed Wobblies traveled up the Puget Sound from Seattle and were met at the dock by the county sheriff.

Legion Post Commander Warren Grimm, who would become the first casualty of the massacre, was a local lawyer who interacted regularly with Smith.

Despite vastly different viewpoints, evidence from personal logs indicates that the professional dealings between these two men were generally respectful and they had an appreciation for each other's legal acumen.

A local high-school football star and an All-American at the University of Washington, he had served with distinction as a U.S. Army officer with the American Expeditionary Force Siberia protecting the Trans-Siberian Railway during the Russian Revolution.

To this day, the American Legion believes that Grimm was specifically singled out in advance as a target, especially since he had made a public speech about the "evils of the Bolsheviks" based on his experiences in Siberia, and was known to be strongly anti-IWW.

The post-massacre Labor Jury of union leaders paints him as a lead participant in a Centralia Conspiracy who subverted his own men into attacking the Roderick Hotel.

Wobbly-sympathetic author John Dos Passos ironically described Grimm as a "young man of good family and manners" in 1919, the second book of the U.S.A. trilogy, published in 1932.

[citation needed] To make matters worse, the route was entirely inadequate, with the parade doubling back on itself at Third Street, a short way from the IWW Hall on North Tower.

There were persistent rumors circulating among union members that the lumber companies and local business leaders were ready for a repeat of the 1918 incident and would use the Armistice Day parade as cover.

According to other people living in Centralia, the IWW, being on the losing end of the previous confrontations, was looking for a fight and wanted to even the score with bloodshed.

Since they could not influence any confrontation within the hall, these residents believed, the Wobblies' goal was to create a killing field in the middle of North Tower Street.

As the gap began to open back up with the Chehalis group, Warren Grimm turned to address his troops and uttered the command "Halt.

[18][19] According to the American Legion, the realigning of ranks presented Wobbly member Eugene Barnett, stationed in the Avalon, a direct shot at Grimm.

In contrast, the IWW claims that as the Legionnaires paused, a small group, possibly with Grimm's complicity, broke off and charged the Roderick with the intent to repeat the events of the previous year.

Firstly, Grimm's and McElfresh's wounds were caused by rifle bullets fired at medium to long range, not revolvers, and the blood trails from both men began in the middle of the street.

[22] The Legionnaires further counter with statements from the IWW member Tom Morgan, who was inside the Wobbly hall during the massacre and testified "that shots were fired before any rush was made upon the I.W.W.

"[26] According to Vanderveer, as the Centralia contingent of Legionnaires began to pass by the Wobbly hall, a small group of men attempted to storm the building.

The only two local morticians refused to take the deceased Everest and his body was left on the jail floor adjacent to the cell holding the IWW prisoners until the next day, on November 13, 1919.

According to the author Tom Copeland, Chaplin and his co-author Walker Smith either fabricated the story or were the first to repeat the allegation in print.

[citation needed] The captured Wobblies were charged with murder, and the resulting trial was held in Montesano, in nearby Grays Harbor County.

"[17]: 84  The seven convicted IWW members appealed their lengthy sentences to the Washington Supreme Court, which unanimously affirmed Wilson's judgement in April 1921.

1933, the newly elected Democratic governor, Clarence D. Martin (1884–1955), commuted or pardoned the sentences of three of the prisoners [Lamb, Smith, Bert Bland].

[37][38] On November 11, 2019, the IWW held a 2-day public centennial commemoration of the tragedy in Centralia, featuring Wobbly speakers and musicians, as well as historians.

[42][43] On June 23, 2024, the completed monument was installed in George Washington Park, next to ‘The Sentinel’, in a public dedication organized by the IWW’s Centralia Committee.

One significant fact not in dispute is the identities of the victims: Killed: Wounded: Seven Wobblies were convicted of 2nd degree murder for their roles in the massacre: Mike Sheehan and Elmer Smith were acquitted.

Robert Cantwell, who was a teenager living near Centralia when the events occurred, would feature the theme of strikes in his works, including Laugh and Lie Down (1931) and The Land of Plenty (1934, 1971).

Deep River (2019), by Karl Marlantes sweeping novel of early 20th century immigrant life in southwest Washington, touches on the Centralia and the IWW.