The idyllic little town of Chehalis, Washington is located along Interstate 5 just south of Olympia and a two-hour drive north of Portland, Oregon. In 1873, Chehalis was merely a train depot and warehouse adjacent to railroad tracks. When the Northern Pacific Railroad decided to omit the county seat from its plans and pass through Chehalis instead, the town became the new county seat and governmental buildings were erected. For years, the town was called Saundersville after the man that donated land for its official founding but was later changed to Chehalis in honor of the Chehalis Native American tribe that calls the region home.