The Ghost City of Stanley
Investors realize the 'City of Stanley' they bought into is a total fabrication, leading to a massive lawsuit against land speculators.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
John T. Forrest of Chehalis has filed a suit for $4,610.45, alleging he was swindled into buying real estate in the alleged city of Stanley, near the mouth of the Nasel River in Pacific County. The defendants claimed to possess capital stock in the city worth $2,500,000, divided into 2,500 shares. Forrest and twenty-eight others now allege that no such city ever existed, despite promotional material claiming it was platted with streets and connected to a railroad. The defendants, including Charles Gilchrist and O. B. Genty, reportedly abandoned the project after collecting payments for lots. Other plaintiffs include Henry Gable, M. A. Haskell, and Roy Gress. The land intended for the city was found to be mortgaged for over half its value, serving as the sole foundation for the millions in projected capital.
“Forrest and his friends say they were deluded. The defendants are: Charles Gilchrist, O. B. Genty, J. V. Holton of Colorado, Charles S. L. Holm and N. H. Yarrington, Nevada.”
Land speculation schemes promising phantom cities and non-existent infrastructure are a recurring theme in the Pacific Northwest’s history, echoing modern concerns about fraudulent real estate developments and speculative bubbles in an increasingly unaffordable housing market.
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