| Matilda N. Jackson State Park Heritage Site | |
| Map: | Washington |
| Location: | Mary's Corner, Washington |
| Coordinates: | 46.5486°N -122.8233°W |
| Etymology: | Named after homesteader, Matilda Jackson |
| Administrator: | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission |
| Visitation Num: | 23,436 |
| Visitation Year: | 1987-2007 |
| Designation: | Washington state park |
Matilda N. Jackson State Park Heritage Site is a 5acres state park in Mary's Corner, Washington. Named after a pioneering homesteader, it is one of the few parks in the Washington State Park system named after a woman.
The park began in 1917 as a land donation from Matilda's daughter, Louisa Audre Ware, requesting it to be named in honor of her mother; it was to be used initially as a "comfort station". The Civilian Conservation Corps built a covered shelter during the 1930s.[1]
Among the areas under Washington State Park oversight, the park is considered one of the oldest on record in the state and one of the few named after a woman. As part of the original donation, the park must always be used as a "waystation", restricting the state from selling the parcel.[2]
Matilda Koontz (Glover) was born January 29, 1811, in Maryland.[3] Her family traveled to Missouri due to a combination of the Glover family's animus towards slavery and an increase in economic status. She married Nicolas Koontz (originally Coonse) in 1837 in Missouri.[4] The Koontz family, in search of prosperity on the open frontier, began a pioneer journey on the Oregon Trail in 1847; Nicolas perished due to drowning in the Snake River.[5] [4] [6] Upon arriving in the Oregon Territory she married John R. Jackson in 1848 and they settled in Highland Prairie (also Highland Farm), eventually known as Mary's Corner, Washington.[7] [8] The pair built up the property which included the Jackson Courthouse, the first such building in what would become the Washington Territory. She, along with other women in the area, created the first flag that represented the newly created Washington Territory.[9] Matilda lived on the homestead for nearly five decades.[8]
Matilda, over the course of her two marriages, gave birth to six sons and a daughter who lived beyond infancy, losing three of her sons between 1855 and 1861.[7] She also suffered an early birth, and subsequent death, of a daughter after Nicolas's death during their Oregon Trail crossing.[4] [8] She was given the moniker, "Washington Territory's Grand Lady", due to her nature and her entertaining of government officials, including such visitors as Ulysses S. Grant and Civil War generals, George McClellan and Philip Sheridan. Matilda died on February 14, 1901, at the age of 89[3] and is buried along with her husband, John Jackson, and several of her children at Fern Hill Cemetery in Chehalis, Washington.[6]
The Lewis County commissioner board declared October 26, 2019, which coincided with a release of a biography of Matilda, as "Matilda Jackson Legacy Day".[4]
The park is a day-use area with a covered picnic shelter and other picnic amenities. The forested site contains the only remaining Douglas fir trees in the area. A small trail, listed as in length, loops through the wooded area and there is a monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution that memorializes the pioneer Cowltiz Trail.[1] [10]