Esther Clark Short (December 24, 1806June 28, 1862) was an early American settler of what would become the State of Washington. She was a founder of the City of

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

. Part of her land bequeath became Esther Short Park, which is the oldest public square in the state of Washington. She was able to achieve this though it was not legal for women in the territory of Washington to own property prior to 1881.

History

Early life and settlement

Esther Clark was born on December 24, 1806, in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Accounts of her heritage vary: Sources state she was either half-

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

, half-

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, or entirely

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

(one-fourth

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, one-fourth Algonquin, and one-half Six Nations). She and her sister, Jane, were raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and survived the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

of 1832. While attending school, she became educated in shooting, food preservation, and

herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. Scientific evidence for the effectiveness of many herbal treatments ...

. After marrying husband Amos Short in November 1829, the family moved West to Illinois in 1837. A few years later, the family moved further West to the Oregon territory in 1845. They settled near

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

in 1847 on a plot of land originally claimed by Henry Williamson, who had left the land in the care of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

. This led to a conflict between the Shorts and the Hudson's Bay Company officials, as tensions remained high between British fur traders and American settlers in the area. The Treaty of Oregon specifically stipulated that Hudson's Bay's property rights were to be respected, and the British officers repeatedly tried to drive the Shorts back to the American territory South of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

. Over the course of her life, Esther raised a total of ten children and gave birth to twelve, with two dying in early childhood.

Family controversy

Soon after Amos and Esther Short and their eight children landed in Fort Vancouver, the established Hudson's Bay Company within the vicinity did not welcome them and made every effort to evict the Short family from their newly settled home, including attempting to destroy their fences. Once, while Amos was away, the British forced Esther and her children into a boat and set them adrift onto the Columbia river. While she and her children succeeded in safely making it back home, afterwards, her husband Amos kept a firearm ready to defend his family along with a strict warning to the British to stay off their land. The British ignored Amos' warning by sending men to their home, resulting in an altercation and shooting that ended in the deaths of two men. Amos was charged with murder and brought to court, but was later acquitted of the charges. During Amos' time in court, Hudson's Bay Company sent more men under the leadership of French-Canadian Lieutenant Francis Facette to the Short home to, once again, destroy their fences. Esther, disgusted with the persistence of the British, slapped Facette across the face, toppling him to the ground. In light of her courage and fortitude, the Hudson's Bay Company finally abandoned their efforts, and Esther Short and her family remained, with Esther becoming a pioneering developer of the city of Vancouver and a notable part of its history.

Founding of Vancouver

Shortly after his acquittal, Amos Short drowned while returning on a trip from California aboard the ship the ''Vandalia'', which sank in the

Columbia Bar The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is one of the most dangerous bar crossings in the world, earning the nickname Graveyard of the Pacific. The ...

. Following his death in 1853, Esther filed papers to claim 640 acres of her husband's land pursuant to the Donation Land Claims Act. She opened a restaurant on the land that same year, and opened a hotel the year following. In 1855, she donated a parcel of land for use of the city. Included in this parcel was land bequeathed as a public plaza which later became Esther Short Park, as well as a strip of waterfront to be a public wharf, on which Berth One of the

Port of Vancouver The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...

now stands. The

City of Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

was incorporated two years later in 1857.

Death

Short died on June 28, 1862, and was interred at the old Vancouver city cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Esther 1806 births 1862 deaths Algonquin people American pioneers Catholics from Pennsylvania History of Vancouver, Washington People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania Washington (state) pioneers People from Oregon Country American city founders