Esther Short

Esther Short. Esther Short Park. After marrying Amos Short in 1829, Esther (Clark) Short set out on the adventure of her life! Originally from Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Esther Short, who was ½ Algonquin Indian, her husband Amos and 10 children traveled west to Linton, Oregon in 1845 and moved again to the present site of downtown Vancouver in 1847. In 1847, this downtown area was under the Treaty of Occupation (1818-1846 England and America shared rights of the territory). The Short’s claim included most of Vancouver west of the Witness Tree on the banks of the Columbia River which later became Main Street to what is now Fourth Plain Blvd. Hudson’s Bay Company officials at the fort looked at their new neighbors with resentment and tried hard to evict Amos and Esther, by destroying their fences and other means. Once while Amos was away, they loaded Esther and her children in a boat and set them adrift on the Columbia. Somehow they made their way back to shore. After that Amos kept a gun and used it, once killing two men. He was found by a court that he acted in self defense. Amos, to further his income, took a load of potatoes to San Francisco, but drowned in 1853 when the “Vandalia” (the ship he was on) sunk at the mouth of the Columbia River on his return trip. Following his death, Esther continued helping to build Vancouver; then known as Columbia City, and in 1855 donated 5.4 acres for a public square. It is the oldest park in the state of Washington and is considered to be the oldest designated city park in the West. She also donated a long riverfront section for a public wharf which is now owned by the Port of Vancouver. Vancouver was incorporated two years later on January 23, 1857. Esther died June 28, 1862.