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Jackson House State Park Heritage Site

south of Chehalis, Washington

visited 26 December 2020

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Jackson House State Park is Washington’s second-oldest state park; it contains a reconstruction of one of the earliest white settlements in the precursor to Washington state.

This article is, to be plain, a difficult one to write.

I’m a white American and a relative newcomer to the Pacific Northwest. I moved to Washington in 2004 and my family of origin had no prior connections to the area.

A friend recently shared this article about the whitewashing of history in our parks with me; it weighs heavily on me as I write today.

To be sure, the arrival of white people in this region is a significant event in our local history.

But where are the parks that celebrate the rich culture that predated our arrival?

You can request a tour of the site, though I don’t know if that is still possible in COVID times. I did not plan ahead in that fashion, so the few pictures here are from walking around the premises and peeking in through the windows.

For more information:

• State Parks web site