On January 8,1875, George Washington, the founding father of Centralia (1817-1905) and his wife Mary Jane filed the plat that established the town of Centerville, soon to be renamed Centralia, in Lewis County in Southwest Washington. Gough, this two-story three-part building encompasses the northeast and northwest corners of Tower and Main streets. Its Romanesque Revival styling is heavy timber co
nstruction with reinforced steel and concrete foundations and partial basement. The portion of the building that is sided with Tenino sandstone connects to the two adjacent buildings, 107, 105 West Main Street and likewise on the Tower side, 101, 105, 107. All three buildings share the upstairs hallway with Terrazzo floors and the office windows and doors use a very unique patterned glass which is no longer available. This building originally housed the Field and Lease Bank, established in 1903. Two prominent local businessmen, John Field and J.E. The president, John A. Field, was an Illinois native who relocated to Centralia in 1888. Originally operating wholesale flour, feed and grocery business, his fortune grew and he ultimately began a prominent bank with J.E. Lease, the cashier, arrived in Centralia in 1889 from Pennsylvania and originally was superintendent of city and county schools. Together, Field and Lease erected the stone building during hard economic times in 1903. This building has had a variety of tenants including doctors, dentists, lawyers, a drug store, Western Union Telegraph and for one year the famed Olympic Club occupied a section in the Field and Lease building after it experienced a fire at it's location on Tower. The building's most well known occupant was Ella Field, wife ofJohn, who was a milliner and hairdresser.
