Yakima Fights Back Against the 'Pullman Deal'
A legal battle erupts as Yakima citizens challenge the state government's decision to locate the new agricultural college in Pullman.
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Yakima is still in it, and proposes to knock out the shameful deal by which the agricultural college was located at Pullman by Black, Conover & Co. Bonds were forwarded for the costs of suit, and the Hon. Fremont Campbell, judge of the superior court of Pierce county, granted a restraining order. The case will be heard at Tacoma. The order restrains state officials from issuing warrants to the commissioners and regents involved in the location of the college, effectively halting the institution's establishment until the court can hear the complaint on May 29, 1891.
“Yakima is still in it, and proposes to knock out the shameful deal by which the agricultural college was located at Pullman.”
The struggle over the location of Washington State University (then the Agricultural College) highlights a long-standing tradition of local boosters using the court system to challenge centralized state authority. Today, the debate in Washington often shifts from the location of colleges to the distribution of infrastructure funding and regional economic development.
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