The Proffitt Building
O’Blarney’s (221 N Tower)
by Colleen Stewart, 2025
HISTORY
The history of Lewis County in Washington State is rich with stories of pioneers establishing the homesteads, businesses, and industries of the County area and eventually in even wider territories. One such pioneer was Henderson Straley Proffitt, born on September 30, 1840, in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Henderson and his wife Mary Ann Kesterson and their surviving seven (of ten) children had arrived from Texas in 1888. They settled on a farm in the Lincoln Creek area and later homesteaded near Randle, in eastern Lewis County. While in Randle, Henderson and Mary Ann opened and ran Proffitt’s Dry Goods store - a precursor of what would come later. Mr. Proffitt died on September 24, 1928, in Centralia, Washington, just six days shy of his 88th birthday.
Proffitt’s Dry Goods, in Randle, Washington with Henderson and (presumably) his wife Mary Ann on the porch (c.1904).
One of Henderson and Mary’s seven children was a son named Samuel Lehman “Lee” Proffitt, born on September 10, 1879. Lee arrived in Lewis County with his family when he was nine. Just like many other children of the early pioneers, Lee picked up the skills to be known for the rest of his life as an avid hunter and expert woodsman.When Lee was a young man, he worked in downtown Centralia for Mr. Frank Sprague in the Up-to-Date clothing store on the corner of North Tower Avenue and Magnolia.
After saving his money, Lee took the opportunity to buy out the Up-to-Date store and opened the first Proffitt’s Store in that location in 1907.
Proffitt’s Dry Goods, in Randle, Washington with Henderson and (presumably) his wife Mary Ann on the porch (c.1907).
In 1927, Mr. Proffitt replaced the humble wooden structure of the original store with a three-story 60-foot x 120-foot modern building, adding 21,500 square feet of retail space to the Centralia downtown area. The new building was constructed of brick and concrete and finished with cream face brick and Rockbond stucco. The Tower Avenue frontage was an arcade-type design - an architectural element composed of columns or piers - and the Magnolia street side featured terra cotta columns with Napoleon gray marble bases. The marquee overhead the sidewalks extended all around the building, and an elevator provided easy access from one story to the other two. Terrazzo floors beautifully decorated the entire building. Finally, a vertical neon electric sign was visible to anyone up and down Tower Avenue.
Proffitts Department Store building, in Centralia, Washington.
The Proffitt Building was a stunning addition to the downtown shopping area, employing as many as 28 people in over 20 departments. Offices located on the third floor of the Proffitt Building came with all the conveniences necessary for the medical and dental professionals established there. Those professional spaces were accessibleby stairway or by the previously mentioned elevator. The construction contract cost $175,000 - more than $3,159,000 today.
From the first store in Centralia, the business eventually grew to include three more stores, one each in Chehalis (established in 1917), Longview (1932), and then in Olympia (1954). Not surprisingly, Lee's two sons, Lehman M. Proffitt and Dean A. Proffitt, played a role in the growth of the business after they graduated college. Lehman focused primarily on the Centralia store while his brother Dean relocated his young family to open a brand-new building and run the Longview store. He later relocated to Olympia to open that store. When Lee retired, Lehman took over the business and held that position until he retired in 1964.
Samuel Lehman (Lee) Proffitt passed away in August 1958 after a lengthy illness. He was 78 years old. Mr. Proffitt established quite a legacy from a young pioneer in primitive Lewis County to that of a successful businessman overseeing multiple stores. He was heavily involved in the community - both as a leader in the downtown business community and through various benevolent and charity organizations. His life was an impressive contribution to the prosperity of the entire region.
Lehman and his wife Mildred Culp were parents to a boy and a girl. They pursued other interests outside the business when they grew to adulthood. But Dean and his wife Maxine Wilkens had two sons: Dean A. Proffitt, II, and Joseph L. Proffitt. Both boys went to school in Longview, enlisted in the Navy, met their brides in Virginia, and returned home to work in the business. Joe managed the Longview store until it closed and then assisted his father with the operations of the Olympia store until it closed in 1974. Dean joined the business in Centralia immediately after graduating from the University of Puget Sound in 1958. He took ownership when Lehman retired in 1964 and saw the family business through a major store remodel in the early 1970s, and then it too closed in 1977. In the end, Proffitts Department Stores, started in 1907 by Lee Proffitt, employed hundreds of people and sustained three generations of multiple Proffitt families for 70 years.
The Proffitt Building, a tribute to the hard work and success of a long-time Lewis County family, deserves official recognition as a Centralia landmark. We strongly encourage this recognition by sponsoring a formal plaque to be affixed to the Tower Avenue side of the northeast corner of the building in tribute to those who dreamed, worked, managed, and lived well as part of the long-term success of the Proffitts Department Store.
