The Mysterious Land Grab of Enumclaw
A quiet town under the shadow of the Northern Pacific railroad suddenly erupts in land speculation, with rumors swirling that local figures are merely fronting for powerful railway interests.
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.
Enumclaw is the scene of another test today. The owner of the townsite is J. Ed. Buckley, but if all that is said is true, the influence behind him is a good deal closer to the parent company. It will be remembered that Mr. Buckley, who is an official of the Northern Pacific, had the townsite some days ago. Since then there has been a great deal of speculation—that is, the real sort of speculation—concerning the real owner and the number of railroad buildings passing through it. Today it took another sudden peak in windward, and F. E. Buckley, who has owned the townsite under homestead patent for five years, added a further signification of that J. Ed. Buckley take. The whole thing, it is rumored, is that nearly if not all of the townsite was made in trust for Col. W. H. Brown, president of the St. Paul railway, I. M. Buckley, vice-president of the same, and C. K. Cannon. The main object of the purchase is to include the town site in a railway terminal. It is understood he has $40,000 worth of the property deeded, which includes much property adjoining.
“There has been a great deal of speculation—that is, the real sort of speculation—concerning the real owner and the number of railroad buildings passing through it.”
This 1888 account of corporate entities fronting through individual proxies to control land for 'railway terminals' echoes the long history of Seattle-area development, where land use is often dictated by the strategic interests of transit and logistics giants rather than local residents. The manipulation of townsite ownership remains a central theme in Puget Sound's ongoing struggle over growth and displacement.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.