[1] Part of her land bequeath became Esther Short Park, which is the oldest public square in the state of Washington.

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.

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

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.

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.