Blood on the Hop Fields
A long-standing property dispute over a county road and hop land turns lethal near Lake Tapps.
D. F. Orcutt killed William Cushman near Lake Tapps today, and his son Isaac wounded W. Russell severely in the shoulder and hand. The Orcutts surrendered to police in Sumner, claiming self-defense. The men were entangled in a bitter dispute involving a county road that allegedly cut through land owned by the Orcutts' grandfather, where Cushman had been working hop fields on shares. Tensions flared when the Orcutts went to the land to burn logs and fix a fence, leading to a confrontation where, according to the Orcutts, Russell commanded Cushman to knock their brains out with a hop pole. In the ensuing struggle, shots were fired, and Cushman fell dead.
“Ike says he put his revolver into his pocket yesterday to shoot crows, and did not leave home today.”
This violent struggle over property rights and county roads echoes the fierce, ongoing battles over land-use and access that defined the early growth of Pierce County. Today, Lake Tapps has transformed from a site of agricultural feuds into a residential hub, but the tension over who controls the landscape remains a constant in Pacific Northwest history.
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