October 6 – November 24, 1877
The Ghost Land Claim of Snohomish County
Six 1877 notices trace a vanished Snohomish homesteader's claim; no name given.
6 reports in The Northern Star, October 6 – November 24, 1877.
The story
Between October 6 and November 24, 1877, The Northern Star of Snohomish City carried a series of reports and legal notices about a homesteader near the Snohomish River who disappeared, leaving his land claim unresolved. The notices describe a territorial land office notice, a public search for the settler, and eventually a probate court summons, but none of the reports given here names the settler or states the claim's precise location. The accounts also differ on the forum — one calls it an Olympia Land Office matter, another a probate proceeding — and give no cause for the disappearance.
Told from the 6 reports below. The reports are the record.
The archive grouped these reports automatically, by date, place and subject.
The reports 6
- The Northern StarThe Ghost Land Claim of Snohomish County
A territorial land office notice reveals the mystery of a missing homesteader and the fight for his claim near the Snohomish River.
- The Northern StarThe Disappearing Homesteader of Snohomish County
A government land office issues a public notice to track down a settler who vanished, leaving his claim in limbo and prompting a formal investigation into abandonment.
- The Northern Star1877 Olympia Land Office Hears Snohomish Homestead Dispute
A legal notice reveals the abrupt vanishing of a local homesteader, triggering a formal search for his whereabouts after he abandoned his land claim.
- The Northern StarThe Struggle for a Snohomish Homestead
A legal notice reveals the bureaucratic hurdles pioneers faced to prove their claim to the Snohomish river valley.
- The Northern StarSnohomish Land Claim Dispute Heads to Probate Court
A legal summons from 1877 reveals the precarious reality of early Washington settlers who vanished from their claims, leaving behind only government paperwork and public notices.
- The Northern StarThe Bureaucratic Frontier: Settling Homesteads in Snohomish
Before the age of easy travel, a local legal notice reveals the logistical hurdles of securing land rights in Snohomish County.
From the pages
The Northern Star · Oct 6, 1877
The Northern Star · Oct 13, 1877
The Northern Star · Oct 27, 1877
The Northern Star · Nov 3, 1877
The Northern Star · Nov 10, 1877
The Northern Star · Nov 24, 1877
Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.