The Battle for the Tide Lands
A multi-million dollar legal dispute threatens to redefine ownership of Seattle’s valuable shoreline.
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.
As the time approaches for the final argument in the United States Supreme Court regarding the Valentine scrip cases, interest has intensified among scrip holders, railroad corporations, and those who have made extensive improvements upon the tide lands of Seattle and Tacoma. The scrip holders believe the court will uphold their right to locate these lands, while Attorney General Jones argues the state of Washington holds title by virtue of its sovereignty, citing the Alabama case of Pollard’s Lessee vs. Hagan. The dispute centers on whether these lands were part of the public domain subject to federal disposition during the territorial period. Valentine scrip, granted in 1872 to satisfy a Mexican land grant in Petaluma, California, is highly prized, with some contested Seattle tide lands valued at $50,000 to $100,000 per acre.
“The land held with this scrip adjoining Seattle is valued at $50,000 to $100,000 an acre.”
The late 19th-century struggle over who owns the 'wet' lands of Puget Sound mirrors the ongoing tension between public waterfront access and private development interests in modern Seattle. This legal fight helped define the boundaries of the city's growth and the power of private scrip versus public sovereignty.
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