After Schuyler and Eliza Saunders staked out property in 1851, early pioneers referred to the soggy Chehalis River bottomland as "Saunders Bottom." The community of Claquato on a nearby hillside became a busy way station for travelers but only until enterprising businessmen like William West repeatedly flagged down passing trains, prompting railroad officials to establish a depot at Chehalis. Following an economic boom in the 1880s, fires in 1892 destroyed much of the business district. Chehalis thrived in the 1920s, suffered during the Depression, and built parts for B-17 bombers in a Boeing Company plant during World War II . An early-1950s Adventure in Cooperation forged even stronger community bonds, leading to the formation of the Chehalis Industrial Commission. Today, Chehalis has thriving retail and industrial areas and a renovated downtown promoted by members of the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team.
Matilda (Glover) Koontz was thirty-seven years old, a pregnant wife, and the mother of four young sons when she joined her husband in May 1847 for their trek across the Oregon Trail, lured by the promise of fertile farmland in the Willamette Valley. But then the unthinkable happened: her husband, Nicholas, drowned while crossing the Snake River. After a series of tragedies, she fulfilled her husband's dream and arrived with their sons at Oregon City--but then what? In early 1848, the widow with four sons married John R. Jackson, a British-born naturalized American, and traveled north to his log cabin known as Highland Farm. Although plagued by sorrow and loss, this resilient pioneer woman helped shape Washington Territory and gained a reputation for hospitality, kindness, and good cooking throughout the territory--and even in the nation's capital of Washington City. "This book is 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. 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. The book is well written and documented with many details that the other historians have missed. Frankly, I loved the book and recommend it to all. Readers will not be disappointed!" Ralph Munro, retired Washington Secretary of State, 1980-2000
After Schuyler and Eliza Saunders staked out property in 1851, early pioneers referred to the soggy Chehalis River bottomland as "Saunders Bottom." The community of Claquato on a nearby hillside became a busy way station for travelers but only until enterprising businessmen like William West repeatedly flagged down passing trains, prompting railroad officials to establish a depot at Chehalis. Following an economic boom in the 1880s, fires in 1892 destroyed much of the business district. Chehalis thrived in the 1920s, suffered during the Depression, and built parts for B-17 bombers in a Boeing Company plant during World War II . An early-1950s Adventure in Cooperation forged even stronger community bonds, leading to the formation of the Chehalis Industrial Commission. Today, Chehalis has thriving retail and industrial areas and a renovated downtown promoted by members of the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team.
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