In the spring of 1847, Matilda Koontz embarked on a grueling 2,000-mile journey on the Oregon Trail with her husband, Nicholas, and their sons, leaving behind her cherished life on a Missouri farm to support her husband's dream of claiming free farmland in the Pacific Northwest.  Fresh graves along the way proved the dangers of disease, accidents, starvation, and countless hazards threatening her family's safety and survival.  

Join author Julie McDonald Zander as she retraces Matilda Koontz's journey to Oregon and how this "reluctant pioneer" became a pillar of early settler communities. Koontz's home served as Washington Territory's first courthouse and is the namesake of Matilda Jackson State Park.  

Julie McDonald Zander is an award-winning journalist with 20 years of experience as a newspaper reporter and editor. Her debut novel about Matilda Koontz, The Reluctant Pioneer, won a silver Will Rogers Medallion and American Bookfest's Best Book Award of 2025, and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America's Spur Award for Best Historical Novel. Her nonfiction book about Koontz, Washington Territory's Grand Lady, was a finalist for two national awards. Through her personal history company, Chapters of Life, she has published more than 90 individual, family, and community histories. 

Enjoy 15% off your hotel stay on History Pub nights! Show your ticket at check-in.

These events are open to everyone interested in Pacific Northwest history, and beyond! Often co-sponsored by local or state historical and civic organizations, we bring you experts, scholars, first-person experiencers, historians and documentaries expounding on topics from indigenous history to the birth of Portland, early explorers to hop growing, and on and on! It's like being back in the classroom - except this time you get to settle into comfortable seats and enjoy a drink or two with dinner while you listen and learn.

This event is eligible for a History Pub Stamp