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126 stories matching pre
- 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 Lake Washington Land Fight That Turned on a Cabin, a Railroad Claim, and 'Crazy' Miller
A decade-long homestead contest ends with William L. Miller keeping first claim—if he or his guardian can prove it within 90 days. His rival says the cabin was never really a home.
- The Homestead Scam That Turned Public Land Into a Speculator’s Prize
An 1883 exposé from Walla Walla describes how doctors, lawyers and merchants faked frontier residency to grab government land—and why the law made perjury easy.
- 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 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 Great Seattle Land Battle of 1877
A federal decision sheds light on the messy early scramble for ownership of downtown Seattle, as speculators and the city vied for title to the waterfront.
- The Ground Under Rainier Addition: A Seven-Year Title Fight Ends—for Now
After three trials and repeated reversals, Henry S. Alger is declared owner of a tract already platted into lots and improved by buyers who trusted the Hill title.
- 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 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 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 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 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 Sham Colony of Whatcom County
Federal investigators expose a fraudulent scheme to seize timber lands using dummy 'pre-emption' entries.
- 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.
- The Mysterious Snoqualmie Valley Elopement
A young woman vanishes from her home in Pleasant Hill, only to reappear days later in a pre-arranged wedding.
- The Lawyer and the Imposter
Attorney James E. Morrison faces a hearing over allegations he orchestrated a fraudulent pre-emption claim using a double.
- 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 Day Tacoma Forced Out Its Chinese Neighbors
In a pre-planned act of collective expulsion, hundreds of residents marched through the rain to force the city's Chinese population to flee to Lakeview, marking a dark chapter in Pacific Northwest history.
- The Riot and the 'Queen City'
Mayor Henry Yesler recounts the dark days of the 1886 anti-Chinese riots and the subsequent rise of the 'Home Guards' in Seattle.
- The Great Vancouver Land War
A government ruling unravels decades of competing claims between the St. James Mission, the U.S. Military, and the heirs of Amos Short over the heart of Vancouver.
- Tragedy at the Occidental Hotel
A pre-dawn fire at a downtown boarding house kills a resident and leaves others fighting for their lives in the smoke.
- The Water Monopoly Fight
A local property owner challenges Aberdeen's city council over water rights, accusing officials of steering the public toward an expensive, pre-owned system for their own profit.
Also about this, in other words
- A Premature Blast Tore Apart 'Lead' Long's Face Near Metaline
A miner known across the district was badly hurt at the Wake Up Jim prospect when a blast went off early, and details were slow to reach Newport.
- Clergyman Detained for Extradition
A minister faces serious criminal charges in Washington state as authorities move to detain him in British Columbia.
- Seattle’s Wire War: Why the City Can’t Wait for Electric Companies to Dig
As corporations drag their feet on burying overhead lines, a local editorial warns that procrastination is a corporate scheme to defeat the public will.
- The Pioneer Priest Who Cleared the Forest for a Church
In 1883, Father Frefontaine laid the cornerstone of a grand new cathedral in Seattle, reflecting on a journey that began with clearing dense timber by hand to serve a tiny, fractured congregation.
- The West's First Woman Police Officer
A daring new appointment brings a female officer onto the beat to clean up public behavior in her community.
- A Precarious Request for Legal Safety
Unable to file for divorce due to residency requirements, a mother seeks a court injunction to protect herself and her children from her husband's alleged abuse.
- Five Killed by a Premature Blast on the Monte Cristo Road
A construction crew building the mountain railroad into the Monte Cristo mining district was caught in a landslide triggered by an untimely explosion — one body recovered, four carried off by the current.
- Before Breakfast at the Wilson Tract
The Olympia Light and Power Company sent a crew at dawn to cut a roadbed through Col. Ben Turner's land. He vowed to fence it right back up.