April 12 – May 15, 1877
The Checkerboard Trap: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Hoarded Washington’s Land
Seattle and Snohomish reports, April–May 1877, allege railroad land hoarding.
8 reports in The Daily Intelligencer and The Northern Star, April 12 – May 15, 1877.
The story
Between April 12 and May 15, 1877, The Daily Intelligencer of Seattle and The Northern Star of Snohomish City published editorials and meeting accounts charging the Northern Pacific Railroad with using federal land grants to hold land out of settlement in Washington Territory; the reports described blocked homestead claims, legal limbo, and a disputed coal-line claim. One report said Tacoma citizens packed Reinig’s Hall to condemn the railroad, while another said Snohomish leaders met there; the reports also differ on whether thousands or millions of acres were affected. The pieces warned that the land question and competition for rail connections could stall Seattle, Tacoma, and Snohomish, and they presented the railroad’s land dealings as a public grievance rather than a settled fact.
Told from the 8 reports below. The reports are the record.
The archive grouped these reports automatically, by date, place and subject.
The reports 8
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Checkerboard Trap: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Hoarded Washington’s Land
An editorial in The Daily Intelligencer exposes how the railroad company used federal land grants to block settlers from claiming homesteads, leaving thousands of acres in legal limbo and stalling the growth of Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Race for the Rails: Seattle’s Fight to Keep the Northern Pacific Branch
As Oregon competitors maneuver to steal federal land grants, a local correspondent warns that losing the railroad connection could leave Washington Territory behind for decades.
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Land Grab That Stalled Seattle’s Growth
A local editorial warns that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s hoarding of millions of acres is strangling settlement and development in Washington Territory.
- The Northern StarThe Railroad's Land Grab: How Northern Pacific Hoarded Snohomish’s Future
A local resident exposes the legal loopholes allowing the railroad to retain millions of acres in Western Washington, arguing that this concentrated ownership is strangling settlement and keeping land prices artificially high.
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Great Reflux: How Seattle’s ‘Back Door’ Boom Is Reshaping the Territory
While the world watches wars in Europe and Asia, Washington Territory is filling up with immigrants arriving via the 'back entrance' of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Local farmers are clearing land at breakneck speed, betting on a future where Seattle becomes the grain capital of the world.
- The Northern StarThe Great Land Grab: Citizens Unite to Stop the Railroad's Theft of Public Soil
In a packed meeting at Reinig’s Hall, Snohomish leaders condemn the Northern Pacific Railway for hoarding millions of acres while building a secret coal line, vowing to fight Congress to return the land to settlers.
- The Daily IntelligencerThe Land Grab That Built Tacoma: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Stole Millions of Acres
A furious editorial in the Seattle Star exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad’s scheme to misappropriate public lands for a private coal line, arguing that the company is using legal loopholes to steal from settlers in King and Snohomish counties.
From the pages
The Daily Intelligencer · Apr 12, 1877
The Daily Intelligencer · Apr 18, 1877
The Daily Intelligencer · Apr 24, 1877
The Northern Star · Apr 28, 1877
The Daily Intelligencer · May 2, 1877
The Daily Intelligencer · May 5, 1877
The Northern Star · May 5, 1877
The Daily Intelligencer · May 15, 1877
Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.