History of the Jackson Inn
By Curt Cunningham

In the fall of 1853, Henry Jackson and his wife Elizabeth landed at Monticello after an arduous journey over the Oregon Trail. There were no roads north, so the Jackson's hired Cowlitz boatmen to take them up the Cowlitz River. They landed at a bend in the river that will one day become the city of Castle Rock. The Jackson's decided to take a donation land claim on the other side of the river near the mouth of Arkansas Creek. The creek got it's name because most of the settlers who came later, were from that state.

The Jackson's built a cabin on the south side of Delameter Creek about a quarter mile east of the Jackson Inn. In 1854, Jackson met with the soldiers who were surveying the Military Road which was to run by his place. He then decided to build a new home large enough to be used as a hotel, which would serve the travelers who will be using this new road. The place became known as the Jackson Inn, and it was the first stop on the Military Road after leaving Monticello. The inn was built using milled lumber in a colonial style with a large porch that ran along the front of the inn.

The building had 2 front doors, one leading to the ladies parlor and the other door was for the men. There was a double fireplace in the middle of the building which heated both sides of the house. The kitchen and storeroom were at the back of the building under a lean-to. Jonathan Burbee, from Monticello was a carpenter and built much of the furniture for the inn. Being the largest structure in the area at the time, Jackson would also hold church services there until the Jackson Church was built in 1877. Traveling preachers would also stop by to give sermons.

In 1855, behind the inn, up on top of the hill, about a half mile from the Military Road, Jackson started the first cemetery in the area. At first, the markers were made of wood, but over the years stone markers were placed there. There are said to be about 80 graves in the cemetery. Henry and Elizabeth are both buried there. William Huntington, the founder of Castle Rock and his wife Elizabeth, are also buried there. Over the years, a few travelers who took to the road, never made it beyond the Jackson Inn and were buried in the cemetery. Years ago, in the southeast corner of the cemetery, a brush fire destroyed the wooden markers so it is now impossible to know who was buried in that section. The last burial was in 1948.

The cemetery was only accessible by a road from the inn, but today it is surrounded by private land with no public access. Today, the half acre cemetery is owned by the Cowlitz County Cemetery District. The cemetery has sat untouched since 2015 and is covered in undergrowth with many of the gravestones toppled over. In the spring of 2020, a local Castle Rock resident, along with the D.A.R., are working on restoring the cemetery. So far they have identified 43 of the graves and they hope to have the cemetery restored with a public access in the near future.

When the War of 1855 began, the settlers near Jackson's place built a blockhouse near the Smith place at mouth of Arkansas creek which was called Fort Arkansas or Fort Cagle. There wasn't any fighting in the area and the blockhouse was never used for defensive purposes.

The Military Road is Completed

By 1861, the Military Road was completed and it was now wide enough for stage coaches or rather the "mud wagons" as these stage coaches were nothing more than a stiff wooden box with some seats installed. Very few if any were covered. The Jackson Inn quickly became a busy place. To accommodate the horses, Jackson built a barn out back that lasted until the 1930's when the roof collapsed during a heavy snowstorm.

The Military Road ran along the ridge east of Hazel Dell Avenue and it descended the hill at the back of the Inn. The driveway to the house was a part of the actual road. Leaving the Inn the road continued due north following close to Cline Road. Just after crossing Arkansas creek the road climbed up the short hill to the west of Cline Road. The intersection of Cline Road and P. H. 10, was originally the intersection of the Military Road and the road to Fort Cagle which was a part of the Territorial Road. The Territorial Road ran between Chehalis and Monticello which used much of the old Military Road. South of the Jackson Inn, this road became Hazel Dell Avenue.

After a good nights rest, the travelers would be back on the road first thing in the morning. The days ride ahead would be a tortuous one for the animals and passengers, as between Jackson's and Pumphrey's was the worst section on the road. After passing the intersection with the Territorial road to Fort Cagle (now P. H. 10), the road follows P. H. 10 for about a half mile across a level plain. At this point P. H. 10 turns to the left and the Military Road begins its ascent of Bebe mountain.

Bebe mountain is named after Peder Jensen Bebe who came to America from Denmark in 1879. Peder arrived on the mountain in 1889 and started a farm on the Military Road near Four Mile Springs which is located at the end of Bebe Road. Peder's original last name was Jensen, but after he arrived in Cowlitz county he changed his name to Bebe, and afterwards was known as P. J. Bebe. P. J. Bebe would pass away in 1907 and his son Amon Bebe took over the farm.

Four Mile Springs is 4 miles north of the Jackson Inn and about 5 miles from Pumphrey's. The springs are at the headwaters of Whittle creek, and the weary pioneers who could not afford a night at Jackson's would stop here for the night. The place had fresh water and forage for the animals. In the morning they would prepare to climb up the steep road up the mountain. This stop had 2 campgrounds, which were on ledges one above the other. The lower ledge could hold about 10 wagon teams while the smaller spot could only hold 2 or 3 teams.

From Four Mile Springs it was 2 miles to the summit of Bebe mountain. On top of the mountain the stage line had a relay station where they swapped out the tired horses for fresh ones. Depending on the condition of the road, up to 6 horses were needed to reach the top of the mountain. The summit of the ridge is 1,500 feet and about 3 miles from Pumphrey's. Between the summit and Pumphrey's the road was on a 10% grade.

Personal Accounts of those who Traveled the Muddy Road

The following are some personal accounts of the road in the 1860's; "But the grandeur of the forest through which the wagon road ran made a favorable impression on the uncomfortable editor just as it did on Mrs. Victor. The majestic beauty of the fir and cedar forests through which we rode almost continuously for the day and a half that the road stretched out, was compensation for much discomfort." 

"These are the finest forests we have yet met and Washington territory must have more timber and ferns and blackberries and snakes to the square mile than any other state or territory. We occasionally struck a narrow prairie, but for the most part it was a continuous ride through forests, so high and thick that the sun could not reach the road, so unpeopled and untouched, that the very spirit of solitude reigned supreme, and made us feel its presence as never upon Ocean or Plain." 

Kelsey Conger, a pioneer of the Castle Rock area, said this about the wagon road in 1937; "We traveled by horseback, by stage, or walked. The stage coach changed horses at Jackson's. They used 4 or 6 horses, depending on the condition of the roads. There were never any hold-ups on this stage route. Sometimes the road was too bad for the stage coaches to travel, so the passengers had to go by horseback. The roads were sometimes terrible. The military road sounds good, but it was an awful road really. Father said the men who built it looked for the highest hills and went over them. Pumphrey's mountain was an awful pull and it is only 9 miles from Jackson's to Pumphrey's, but so steep a change of horses was needed at the top."

The Jackson Inn is a Bustling Place

In 1865, Jackson's son William was out on the property one day when he spotted a family who had just arrived from Monticello. They made camp under a large maple tree near the inn and William soon became friends of the family. William fell in love with the eldest daughter and not long after the couple were married. From then on, the old maple was known as the "romance tree."

By 1868, business was booming at the inn and the lean-to behind the building was torn down to make way for a new and larger kitchen. Before construction of the addition began, the building was turned from the west to face toward the north. The new addition included a kitchen, dining room washroom and pantry. Running water was brought to the house using a gravity fed trough from a spring on the hill. Above the kitchen was a large room that was used as a gathering place for meetings and elections. Later a piano was brought in from the east so they could hold dances and parties. The locals called it the "Jackson Hall."

There were a few notables who had slept at the inn, Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens had stayed the night there. In 1871, women's rights activists Susan B. Anthony and Abigail Scott Duniway while on their way to Olympia, stopped at the Jackson Inn for the night. President Ulysses S. Grant also stayed at the inn. Grant was stationed at Fort Vancouver and before he became a general, he was regimental, post and depot quartermaster, who outfitted the expeditions into the Pacific Northwest including the party that surveyed the Military Road. Grant fell in love with the area and had once thought of retiring somewhere in Washington or Oregon.

The Later Years

Elizabeth Jackson passed away in 1860, and not long after, Henry gave the inn to his son William. Henry then moved to Freeport with his new wife Cynthia Burbee, the widow of Jonathan Burbee, and they remained there the rest of their lives. Henry Jackson passed away in 1889. The Jackson Inn continued to thrive until the Northern Pacific railroad came through in 1872, which ended the stage coach era. The inn continued to serve the few travelers who still were using the road before it finally closed down around 1880. For a few more years after, the old inn continued to hold parties, dances, meetings and elections.

In 1928, the first Jackson family reunion was held at the old inn. They held a picnic near the cemetery that was then a beautiful park like area. The Jackson family continued to hold reunions there every year until 1947, when they had to move the reunion somewhere else because the old homestead had become so overgrown with brush, and trees had fallen across the old road to the cemetery. In 1959, the new owners of the inn donated the fireplace to the Kelso Historical Museum where they set up a display of the inside of the old inn.

Today the Jackson Inn still stands, and is on private land. The old building is badly in need of repair and hopefully, someday it will be restored to it's former glory and placed on the historic register.