Sarah Zigler

It’s perfect weather for hiking one of the Jacksonville Woodlands most popular trails—the Sarah Zigler Trail along Jackson Creek.  But who was Sarah Zigler and why does she have a trail as a namesake? 

Well, the first part is easy.  Sarah Plymale Zigler was the daughter of Gabriel Plymale, one of the “first comers” to the new mining camp.  He died from typhoid fever 3 weeks after his arrival in October 1852 and has the distinction of being the first person to be buried in Jacksonville.  In 1854, a 15-year-old Sarah married Louis Zigler, miner, blacksmith, proprietor of the Adams Hotel, and at one time the County Sheriff. 

Now for the second part.  In 1878, Peter Britt sold Sarah 8 acres of his property for $1.  Although no one really knows why, it could be because Britt and Louis Zigler had been partners in mining that 200-foot wide and 3/8 of a mile long stretch of land along Jackson Creek.  At the height of their mine’s production, Zigler and Britt were taking out about $1280 in gold per day.

Sarah’s granddaughter donated the property to the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, and you can now explore it via the 0.7-mile Zigler trail that begins in the lower Britt Gardens.  If you hike the Trail within the next few weeks, you can experience riches of a different kind—a wealth of spring wildflowers including Wake Robin, Bleeding Heart, and the rare Gentner’s Fritillaria, found only in this region!