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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1878 | 1 |
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28 stories matching jumper
- Land Jumpers Threaten Property Rights
Federal bureaucrats reclassifying railroad lands as public territory sparks chaos for homesteaders and investors.
- The Shadowy Campaign for Seattle's Waterfront
Before the city was fully formed, a powerful railroad lobby attempted to secure the lucrative tide-lands of Elliott Bay through backroom deals.
- The King of the Timber Land Jumpers
A self-confessed fraudster who stole 70,000 acres of Washington timber land turns on his former syndicate partners.
- The Land Grabber of Kittitas Valley
A sick man discovers his homestead has been stolen out from under him while he was confined to his bed.
- The Gold Rush Tycoon Who Pledged to 'Wear a Silk Hat' in Seattle
Jack Dalton, the legendary Yukon frontiersman and claim-jumper, buys land on Queen Anne Hill with plans to build a mansion and move his family from Alaska.
- 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.
- Claim Jumpers Descend on the Swauk Mining Camp
A weekend rush of 150 strangers—many said to be backed by a new company—re-staked claims under new names and left the camp braced for a mining war.
- Postmaster's Wife Seeks Divorce Amid Political Scandal
The wife of Port Townsend's new postmaster files an amended complaint for divorce, alleging indignities that have fueled the ire of her husband's political enemies.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Tide Lands
Boosterism clashes with civic control as a proposal to alienate tide lands sparks fears of corporate monopolization.
- The Justice Who Defied the Law of the Landlord
A local judge in Davenport declares the state's 'board-jumping' law unconstitutional, sparking a debate over the rights of the hungry versus the interests of hotels.
- The Christmas That Almost Wasn't
A local carpenter's struggle to collect payment before the holidays highlights the precarity of working families in early Seattle.
- The Patent-Leather Fugitive
A suspected post-office burglar was tracked from Seattle to the Grays Harbor woods, only to be found asleep in millworker's clothes—and incongruous footwear.
- Vigilantes Burn Settler's Cabin at Hoko River
A Seattle man is left homeless after a masked party of seven enforced their claim on the Hoko River by fire.
- The War of the Waterfront: Port Angeles' Battle for Its Soul
As the town fights to incorporate, two factions clash over who owns the shore—leading to a chaotic 'jumping' spree where men pile claims on top of each other in a desperate grab for Pacific real estate.
- The Great Spokane Land Rush
Hundreds of 'boomers' flooded a disputed railroad tract in the heart of Spokane after a legal ruling fueled rumors of unclaimed land.
- Aeronaut Injured in Madison Street Park Accident
Hazel Keyes, a professional parachute jumper, was severely injured after a failed balloon ascent dragged her across a fence.
- The Rancher and the Land-Grabbers
A San Juan Island homesteader faces trial for fighting off a crew of surveyors intent on jumping his claim.
- The Bugle-Call Defense of a 'Jumped' Lot
When a town committee arrived to evict a couple from a disputed lot in Port Angeles, the wife met them with a bugle and two Winchester rifles.
- The Squatter’s Defense
A Seattle homesteader fights back against accusations of ‘land grabbing’ in an era of rapid frontier development.
- The Cabin Shootout: A Violent Encounter in the Woods
A standoff between a local traveler, a 10-year-old boy, and law enforcement leaves one man dead and another wounded in a remote cabin near Puyallup.
- The Claim-Jumper Who Hired a Man to Sleep on His Land
A wanted land locater near South Bend left his wife and children on a contested homestead and used a hired sleeper to guard three other claims—until neighbors called his bluff.
- Vigilantes of the Big Bottom: A Land War in Lewis County
When an aggressive claim jumper tried to terrorize a homesteader, twenty-five settlers organized a committee of order to run him out of the woods.
- The Battle for the Tide-Flats
A group of enterprising squatters use the cover of darkness to plant cabins on disputed Seattle waterfront land, challenging a prominent businessman's claim.
- A Violent Land Dispute on the Little Spokane
A settler’s attempt to harvest hay on his newly acquired land leads to an armed confrontation with local Indigenous claimants.
- The Union Veteran Who Sued the Railroad for a Million-Dollar Tacoma
Anthony P. Carr says Northern Pacific agents helped a claim-jumper steal his homestead. More than a thousand Tacoma lots—and the people living on them—depend on what the Supreme Court decides.