The Battle for Block Eight: Two Men, One Lot, and the Law
In a dispute that highlights the chaotic land rush of early Seattle, two settlers find themselves locked in a legal battle over the same pre-emption claim, forcing a federal judge to intervene.
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.
Notice.
United States District Land Office, Olympia, W. T., June 28, 1876.
WHEREAS, on the 19th day of May, 1875, Edwin M. Church, of King county, Washington Territory, filed in this office his declaratory statement No. 3407, claiming as a pre-emption right the lots one (1), two (2), and the east half of the northwest quarter of section eight (8), in township twenty-five (25) north, range five (5), east of Willamette meridian, alleging settlement and inception of his claim to said land on the 17th day of May, 1875; and having this day filed in this office his own affidavit alleging his compliance with the provisions and requirements of the pre-emption laws of the United States, which relate to settlement, improvement, cultivation and residence upon said land;
And whereas, also, on the 18th day of December, 1874, Alonzo Treadwell, of the said county and Territory, filed in this office his declaratory statement, No. 3330, claiming as a pre-emption right the same tract or tracts of land, alleging settlement and inception of his claim to said land on the 17th day of December, 1874.
Now, with a view to the settlement of the rights of all the parties interested, the said Alonzo Treadwell is hereby summoned to appear at our office in Olympia, Washington Territory, on the 16th day of August, A. D. 1876, at 10 o'clock A. M., to contest the claim of the said Edwin M. Church, and then and there to show cause, if any there be, why the pre-emption claim of said Edwin M. Church shall not be allowed as legal, and he be permitted to enter the said described land.
Given under our hands, at our office, as aforesaid, in Olympia, W. T., this 28th day of June, A. D. 1876. J. T. BROWN, Register. ROBERT G. STUART, Receiver.
This notice captures the raw, unregulated land rush that defined Seattle's early growth. Before modern zoning and title insurance, ownership was often a matter of who could prove they 'settled' first—a process fraught with fraud and error. Today, as Seattle faces a housing crisis driven by scarcity and speculation, this 1876 legal skirmish over a few city blocks serves as a reminder that the struggle to secure a place in the city is as old as the city itself.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.