Brian Mittge Commentary: Book Celebrates the ‘Grand Lady of Washington Territory’

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 I love seeing the past come alive. If you’re like me, you might want to come down to one of the most historic buildings in the Northwest, the Jackson House, next Saturday for the first-ever Matilda Jackson Legacy Day.

You’ll get to know a woman whose life was full of such adventure, heartache, resilience and faith that you’ll come away humbled and strengthened to face whatever your own struggles might be.

Until now, the life of Matilda Koontz Jackson was something of a mystery, a frustratingly empty page in the history books. 

My friend (and fellow Chronicle columnist Julie McDonald Zander) realized this about a dozen years ago, and resolved to find out whatever she could about the life of Matilda Jackson. 

“I just thought that her story needed to be told,” Zander said. “Women went through a lot in the pioneer days, but most of the histories have been written about men.”

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be a proofreader for the book that Zander crafted, called “Washington Territory’s Grand Lady.” 

It’s a great read. Zander dug up some incredibly vivid primary sources, including the journal kept by Matilda’s husband as they came west on the Oregon Trail in 1847. 

Spoiler alert: Within four months of starting the journal, her husband drowned while they were crossing the Snake River. 

Zander tracked down remarkable firsthand accounts that even capture his last words to his worried wife, an offhand joke to the effect of, “If I was born to hang, I’ll never drown, and if I was born to drown, I’ll never be hanged.”

Within moments, Matilda lost her husband, the father of her children, and an essential partner in finding a home in this new land. 

This shock laid her low, but she persevered. She had to. She met John R. Jackson and they married. Matilda joined her new husband at a farm they called the Highlands, at today’s Mary’s Corner. There Matilda became famed as a hostess, welcoming future president Ulysses S. Grant and many other noted travelers of the day. 

“She seems like she was very competent, very quiet,” Zander told me, then laughed. “She’s all the things I’m not: A great housekeeper, a great cook, very dignified. She struck me as such as a lady.”

Retired Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munroe calls Zander’s new book a must-read.

“It tells the incredible and exciting story of one woman’s journey on foot across the plains to the promised land of Oregon Territory,” Munroe wrote in a testimonial for the book. “In many ways, Matilda Koontz Jackson could be described as the ‘first lady’ of Washington State. She watched it all unroll in front of her eyes and she played a significant part in making our life what it is today.”

Matilda Jackson’s name lives on today in a quiet state park just north of Mary’s Corner, one of the oldest parts of the Washington State Parks system (and one of the very few named after a woman.)



Matilda Jackson’s memory will be celebrated next Saturday, Oct. 26, from 2-3:30 p.m. at the historic 1847 Jackson Courthouse, 4277 Jackson Highway,  just a few hundred yards south of Matilda’s namesake park. 

The event will feature a special postal cancellation. 

It will also be the first time the public can buy Zander’s new 364-page book.

I’m looking forward to getting my copy of “Washington Territory’s Grand Lady.” 

Matilda Koontz Jackson was a woman to be admired. Thanks to Zander’s new book, we can finally get to know this remarkable woman of resilience, faith and courage. 

 

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Speaking of history that has literally just been uncovered, the Lewis County Historical Museum this Tuesday will host an event about archeological discoveries from the earliest days of Centralia and its once-glorious Grace Seminary.

“Centralia’s Seminary Hill: Fragments of the Past Unearthed” will officially open on Oct. 22 from 6-8 p.m. at the museum in Chehalis. This event will unveil the new exhibit showing off artifacts uncovered from the site of the gothic seminary building (now home to Centralia’s Art Deco-style Washington National Guard Armory).

I hope to see you there.

 

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Brian Mittge loves the past, looks forward to the future and lives in the moment. Drop him a line at brianmittge@hotmail.com.