The Settler vs. The Railroad
A federal ruling clears the way for George Pressey to keep his homestead, challenging the Northern Pacific Railroad's land claims.
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.
Commissioner N.C. McFarland of the General Land Office issued a decision regarding the homestead application of George W. Pressey in Yakima, Washington Territory. Pressey had settled on land in 1878 that the Northern Pacific Railroad Company claimed as part of their withdrawal. The Commissioner ruled that because the railroad abandoned its original 1873 route and moved its tracks 25 to 30 miles south, their original land claim was invalid. Pressey, who had invested $500 in improvements, was the first settler in the township. McFarland declared that the company's right to the land did not retroactively extend beyond the 1879 re-routing, and that the government would protect the rights of settlers who established claims before notice of the new withdrawal reached the local office.
“It was not the intention of the act granting lands to this company, that such a large amount of the public domain... should be withheld from disposal for six years.”
This battle over land rights reflects the foundational conflicts of Washington's development, where federal land grants to rail monopolies often collided with individual homesteaders. It resonates with current struggles where public land and corporate development interests clash over the growth of Seattle and the surrounding region.
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