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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 2 |
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| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 9 |
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| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 5 |
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| 1895 | 9 |
58 stories matching empt
- A Land Office Says the Tide Flats Are Not for the Taking
George Louchs tried to pre-empt 123.8 acres of Seattle tide flats. A federal commissioner said the unsurveyed shore belonged to the public—for now.
- The Dollar Deed: How a Husband’s ‘Gift’ to His Wife Cost Him His Land Claim
In a dispute over who settled first on public land, the Register of the Olympia Land Office ruled that W.S. Fish could not claim priority because he had technically transferred his donation claim to his wife for just one dollar.
- The Battle for Block Eight: Two Men, One Lot, and the Law
In a dispute that highlights the chaotic land rush of early Seattle, two settlers find themselves locked in a legal battle over the same pre-emption claim, forcing a federal judge to intervene.
- The Shadowy Business of Land 'Jumpers'
A look at the corruption and speculation surrounding homestead land claims in Washington Territory, where the rules of pre-emption favored the well-connected over the actual settler.
- The Sham Colony of Whatcom County
Federal investigators expose a fraudulent scheme to seize timber lands using dummy 'pre-emption' entries.
- The Lawyer and the Imposter
Attorney James E. Morrison faces a hearing over allegations he orchestrated a fraudulent pre-emption claim using a double.
- The Battle for the Snohomish River Claim
A landmark interior department decision favors an ailing settler over a speculator who tried to exploit a technicality in federal land law.
- The Myth of the Transient Worker
A Snohomish editor argues that young men wandering the river camps for work are missing their chance to claim homesteads before the land is claimed by others.
- The Great Seattle Land Grab: How the Maynard Donation Claim Stalled City Growth
A legal dispute over the Catherine Maynard Donation Land Claim reveals the messy, high-stakes battle for ownership of Seattle’s central waterfront in the late 19th century.
- The Great Land Office Fire at Olympia
A catastrophic fire destroys essential territorial land records and plats, forcing homesteaders and pre-emption claimants to restart their filings from scratch.
- The Collector of Port Angeles Strikes Back
A scathing defense against accusations of corruption involving the Port Angeles Town Company.
- Land Fraud in a Booming Town: Two Everett Homestead Cases Go to Trial
A 170-acre tract valued at $1,000 an acre and a 40-acre parcel in the heart of Everett are at the center of separate land contests alleging fraudulent homestead and pre-emption claims.
- A Nooksack Valley Land Fight Ends With One Man Holding Everything
Frank Luke and Watt Birdwell claimed the same Nooksack Valley lots. The Interior Department finally ruled that Luke's earlier settlement gave him the land.
- The Gateway to the Frontier: Snohomish Land Claims
How local clerk H.A. Gerhardt turned the legal machinery of the 1880s into a bustling bureau for pioneer settlement.
- The Struggle for the Northern Pacific Rails
As Congress debates extending the deadline for the Northern Pacific Railroad, local settlers face the double-edged sword of promised prosperity versus the loss of homestead land.
- The Fight for Public Land
Seattle activists organize to challenge the Northern Pacific Railroad's control over vast swaths of Washington Territory.
- The Pre-emptor’s Ledger: A Blueprint for Owning Olympia
In November 1860, the federal government issued a rigid, almost theatrical checklist of requirements for settlers hoping to claim land in Washington Territory. It wasn't enough to just show up; you had to prove your worthiness through a litany of domestic and agricultural details.
- The Feds Crack Down on Land Fraud
A new circular from the General Land Office warns settlers that 'speculation' is illegal and will be met with criminal prosecution.
- A Railroad Beats a Homesteader Over a Tacoma Land Claim
Judge Gilbert rules James De Lacey abandoned his claim before the Northern Pacific land grant, but De Lacey will appeal.
- The Neah Bay Land Grab
A historic Seattle-area editorial exposes how federal officials and a powerful monopoly manipulated reservation boundaries to seize a lucrative trading post from a local merchant.
- The Myth of the Land Monopoly
An 1877 Seattle newspaper sets the record straight for prospective homesteaders: unlike California, Washington Territory is free from the crushing weight of Spanish land grants and speculative hoarding.
- The Chamber of Commerce vs. The People
Citizens are mobilizing to protest the Chamber of Commerce’s support for the Northern Pacific Railroad’s controversial land grant.
- The 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 Unwelcome Arrival at Marysville
As the Snohomish River valley faced economic stagnation, a new townsite at Marysville was pitched as a promise of fertile independence for fifty families.
- The Legal Battle Over Land Claims
Judge Hanford rules on a dispute between the Stimson Land Company and individual homesteaders, highlighting the complexities of federal land patent law.