Settlers Fight for Vashon Island Homesteads
Homesteaders on Vashon Island petition the government to open up lands held as military reservations, arguing they are no longer strategically necessary.
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.
The President is in receipt of a petition to throw the military reservation on the south end of Vashon Island open to settlement. In 1893, Andrew Hemrich, John Kher, Charles Maidment, and William B. Ganock attempted to file for homesteads on the land, but were refused. The settlers argue that the land is naturally ill-suited for fortifications and is unnecessary for defending Admiralty Inlet. The petition notes that six such 'tiny reserves' were selected for a single township over twenty-five years ago, and with the development of the Fort Orchard navy yard nearby, these lands should be returned to public use.
“No less than six of these tiny reserves were selected to one township.”
The transition of federal land from speculative 'military reserve' status to residential property is a familiar story in the growth of Seattle and the surrounding islands. This reflects the early, aggressive push for private land ownership that defined Vashon's development.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.