Minors Gain Right to Own Land in Port Angeles
Federal ruling confirms that young people can hold title to government land, ending a ten-week legal standoff.
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Register W. D. O'Toole has received a telegram from the General Land Office confirming that minors are not disqualified from making homestead entries. For nearly ten weeks, the matter had remained undecided. Register O'Toole maintained that the young people who filed on the lots in good faith could not be denied. In October, it was discovered that 600 minors had been induced to build houses and make improvements upon lots in the reservation with the assurance that they would be allowed to prove up and obtain title. The minors acted in good faith and were, in all instances, old enough to earn their living. After consulting with the district attorney, the register delivered his opinion that minors could prove up, but ordered that final proof be suspended until the Commissioner could pass upon the question. The telegram received last night confirms the register's position, and the final proofs will be passed as soon as possible.
“Their cases are deserving of great sympathy, and recommend them to your favorable consideration.”
This ruling highlights the early, messy scramble to codify land ownership in rapidly developing areas like Port Angeles. Today, the debate over who gets to stake a claim to the land is a core component of Seattle's ongoing struggle with gentrification and housing security.
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