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Tom Copeland research materials on Elmer Smith and the Centralia Tragedy, 1905-1998

Overview of the Collection

Collector, compiler
Copeland, Tom, 1950-
Title
Tom Copeland research materials on Elmer Smith and the Centralia Tragedy
Dates
1905-1998 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.95 cubic feet (3 boxes) plus 1 oversize vertical file
Collection Number
2021 (Accession No. 2021-001)
Summary
Tom Copeland’s research materials on Elmer Smith, attorney for the Industrial Workers of the World involved in the Centralia Tragedy of 1919.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access for paper-based materials; however, no user access copies are currently available for audiocassettes or 7" reel. Users may obtain a reproduction of the media for a fee by contacting Special Collections. Access to CD-ROMs can be arranged by making an appointment with the Labor Archives curator prior to viewing. Contact UW Special Collections for more details or to request an appointment.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Full processing supported by the Labor Archives Fund and the Labor Archives of Washington State Budget
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Biographical Note

Tom Copeland is the author of The Centralia Tragedy of 1919: Elmer Smith and the Wobblies and has worked in the family childcare field since 1981.

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Historical Background

Elmer Smith, who is documented in this collection, was a progressive lawyer in Centralia, Washington who defended the Industrial Workers of the World members arrested following the Centralia Tragedy of 1919. Smith was a high school teacher before becoming an attorney. As an attorney he represented IWW members, loggers and miners. After hearing rumors of a planned attack on their IWW meeting hall, several Wobblies consulted with Smith about whether they had a right to defend themselves and their hall. Their previous hall had been attacked the year before during a parade. Smith contacted Washington’s governor and the IWW’s asked for protection from Centralia law enforcement. However, both attempts were denied as were IWW member efforts to plead for justice from town residents. Smith then advised the Wobblies it would be legal to physically defend themselves if attacked first.

On November 11th, 1919, under the guise of an Armistice Day Parade, American Legionnaires attacked the Centralia IWW hall. IWW members shot and killed four Legionnaires during the attack and wounded several others. A posse later mistakenly killed one of their own. IWW member Wesley Everest fled the scene, killing one of the men pursuing him, and was put in jail. That night,he was pulled from his cell by a group of vigilantes and lynched on a bridge above the Chehalis River. Ten men, including Smith, were arrested and tried for murder during a trial that was heavy with fear and intimidation. Seven men were found guilty and one was judged insane. Smith was acquitted and spent the rest of his life advocating for their release. He was harassed, arrested and disbarred for his work. He was reinstated before he died.

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Content Description

This collection contains Tom Copeland’s research materials on Elmer Smith, attorney for the Industrial Workers of the World involved in the Centralia Tragedy of 1919. These materials were used by Copeland in the writing of his book, The Centralia Tragedy of 1919: Elmer Smith and the Wobblies (1993). Also included are research materials from his 1986 article, "Wesley Everest, IWW Martyr" published in The Pacific Northwest Quarterly . As a part of his research, Copeland conducted a series of oral history interviews with Centralia residents in the 1970s, including members of Smith’s family, IWW members, classmates, and others who knew him.

Collection contents include Copeland’s research notes as well as reproductions and originals gathered by Copeland from family members and archival repositories of news and magazine clippings, pamphlets, correspondence, and other primary sources, including papers and photographs from Elmer and the Smith family. The collection also contains several scholarly papers and manuscripts, including a draft with notes from Virginia Waddell, Smith’s daughter, of her in-progress biography of her father. Other research materials include correspondence between Copeland and people who knew Smith as well as a large series of oral history interview materials, including correspondence between Copeland and interviewees, paper and digital copies of transcriptions of some of the interviews, and analog and digital audio recordings of many of the interviews.

See the Arrangement Note for a full list of series and subseries. More detailed description of each series is also included in the collection inventory, integrating Tom Copeland’s notes on the collection when available.

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Other Descriptive Information

Forms part of the Labor Archives of Washington.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, Tom Copeland research materials on Elmer Smith and the Centralia Tragedy, 2021-001, box number, folder number

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series and subseries:

  • SERIES 1: SUBJECT FILES AND RESEARCH NOTES, 1905-1998
    • Subseries A: Edward Coll: Letters, Pamphlets, and Newspaper
    • Subseries B: Elmer Smith
    • Subseries C: Wesley Everest and Family
    • Subseries D: Radio Broadcast by Eugene Barnett
    • Subseries E: Centralia Tragedy and Trial
    • Subseries F: Scholarly Papers and Manuscripts
    • Subseries G: Newspaper and Magazine Articles
    • Subseries H: Smith Family Papers
  • SERIES 2: CORRESPONDENCE, 1942-1995
  • SERIES 3: ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW MATERIALS, 1972-1990
    • Subseries A: Transcripts, Notes, and Correspondence
    • Subseries B: Interview Audio Cassette Recordings
    • Subseries C: Digital Copies of Interview Transcripts and Recordings

Processing Note

Preliminary inventory with rough intellectual arrangement was created by Conor Casey based on a donor provided inventory by Tom Copeland in May of 2019. Initial rehousing of the collection and an improved, detailed inventory description was created by student Vida Wang in January 2020. Processing archivist Crystal Rodgers arranged the collection intellectually into series and subseries, using the donor provided inventory from Tom Copeland as a guide, and integrated this description into the archival finding aid in March and April 2020.

Acquisition Information

Harvey O'Connor, 1972 (Biographical sketch of Elmer Smith); Tom Copeland, 2019.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 


2014 (Last modified: 7/8/2020)

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