The Guilford Miller Land Case Resolved
A landmark victory for settlers against the Northern Pacific Railroad.
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 Guilford Miller land case, which has become somewhat famous in this state, has been settled. The railroad company has withdrawn it from the courts and thereby acknowledges the title of Miller. This action clears titles to hundreds of entries made on lieu lands prior to the railroad exercising its right of selection in 1880. Briefly stated, the case was as follows: Guilford Miller settled on his place in 1879, improved, and stocked it. In 1884, he received a letter from Paul Schulze, land agent of the Northern Pacific, notifying him that the section of land on which he was located had been selected by the railroad company, and that he must pay them from $4 to $4.50 per acre for it. He consulted with an attorney and, upon his advice, sent his papers to the Walla Walla land office. The granting of the patent was contested by the company, but the local land office decided in favor of Miller. The company appealed to Washington, but the decision of the local office was affirmed. The case was then taken to the courts and was there pending when the company decided to abandon it.
“The railroad company has withdrawn it from the courts and thereby acknowledges the title of Miller.”
This victory for independent farmers mirrors the ongoing tension in Washington over land use and corporate vs. private ownership. Today, the fight persists as local landholders navigate the legacy of railroad-granted 'checkerboard' land ownership that still complicates development and property rights in the Yakima Valley.
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