Washington’s Oldest Community College Was Used as a Lookout Post During World War II
The oldest community college in Washington State is turning 100 years old this year. About an hour's drive from the state border in Vancouver, and two miles from Seattle, local school district educators living in the little town of Centralia created the state's first-ever higher education school on September 14, 1925. They named it Centralia Junior College.
Centralia Community College History: From Free High-School Classrooms to a 100-Year Campus
The first classes for Centralia Community College were actually held on the 3rd floor inside the local high school, and tuition was free.
WWII Lookout on Noble Field
Fast forward to WW II in 1942, when staff members and students at the community college used Noble Field on its campus as an observation post. They were constantly on the lookout for enemy war planes.
In 1959, the college dropped the "Junior" in its name to become Centralia College. Today, you will find several associate and bachelor's degrees, certificates, and programs in construction, tech, the arts, sustainable energy, education, humanities, and other applied and social sciences.
Other "oldest" things in Washington State include:
Oldest City in Washington State
Oldest Restaurant in Washington State
Oldest Performing Theatre Troupe in Washington State
Oldest Church in Washington State
See Also: The Horseshoe Cafe Is Washington's Oldest Restaurant
Can you name some of Washington’s oldest community colleges?
- Centralia College – 1925
- Skagit Valley College – 1926
- Yakima Valley College – 1928
- Grays Harbor College – 1930
- Clark College – 1933
- Lower Columbia College – 1934
- Wenatchee Valley College – 1939
- Everett Community College – 1941
- Olympic College – 1946
- Columbia Basin College – 1955
LOOK: Popular children's books published the year you were born
Gallery Credit: Joni Sweet
More From KW3
