Introduction:
The Washington Territorial Legislature created Chehalis County on April 26, 1854. Chehalis is an Indian word meaning “Shifting Sand.” The county was renamed on March 15, 1915 to Grays Harbor County in honor of Captain Robert Gray.
The census lists 491 people living in Grays Harbor County in 1871. Apparently, the enumerator created his own census page for the last page of the census since the field, “Male Citizen of U.S. 21 years of age and upwards” is not included.