Esther Short, 1806-1862

Esther Short Park WWP

Esther Short Park. Photo credit - Wikimedia

An early American settler who helped the foundation of the City of Vancouver, Washington.



Born Esther Clark in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Growing up, she learned shooting, herbal medicine, and food preservation.

At 23, she married Amos Short, and soon after, they began their gradual journey west. First, they traveled to Michigan; then to Illinois, and in 1845, they settled near Fort Vancouver in the Oregon territory. Their land was managed by the Hudson’s Bay Company – a British fur trading business that tried to keep the northern part of the Columbia River under British rule.

The company repeatedly tried to evacuate the family; on one incident, they forced Short and her children into a boat and sent them adrift onto the Columbia River. After an incident in which she slapped a French-Canadian Lieutenant and toppled him to the ground, the company finally left the family alone.

Following the death of her husband in 1853, Short claimed 640 acres of land under the Donation Land Claims Act, which promoted homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. About 30 years before women in the territory of Washington could own property.

That same year, 47 years old Short opened a restaurant on her land. The following year, she opened her first of two hotels. She permitted ferry boats to land on her property, and in 1855, she donated part of the land to the city to establish a public park. Esther Short Park became one of the oldest public parks in the West.

With these actions, Short helped to build and develop the area, which became the City of Vancouver in 1857. She died at the age of 56.

Where We Live: Vancouver's Esther Short Park

Esther Short Park is an important part of where we live. Ken Boddie reports.

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Fun Facts

  • She had 12 children, and ten survived to adulthood.
  • Some sources say she was half-Algonquin, half-German, while others argue that she was entirely Native American –one-fourth Algonquin, one-fourth Cherokee, and one-half Six Nations.
  • After maintaining control of her land, she was referred to as Joan of Arc of old Oregon.
  • The Pioneer Mother Memorial at Esther Short Park commemorates her and all the brave frontier mothers.
  • The Esther Short neighborhood in Vancouver, Washington, is named in her honor.

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Where We Live: Vancouver's Esther Short Park

Esther Short Park is an important part of where we live. Ken Boddie reports.
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