The End of the Homestead Era in Walla Walla
Federal authorities are canceling land claims after a wave of fraudulent 'residency' filings in Franklin County.
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.
That many homesteads held in the Walla Walla district should be canceled by the general land office is nothing more than was to be expected whenever an investigation was made. Everybody in Walla Walla knows that many men residing here constantly proved up on homesteads in Franklin County by swearing that they had lived on the land for the required length of time. While land could be secured in that way a few years ago when there was plenty of room for all comers, it is different now. Tillable government land is hard to find and there are a score of men ready to jump every claim not properly entered or on which final proof has not been regular. It is tough on men who have bought homesteads on which the entryman had made commutation, but the individual's hardship must be endured for the general good. The time has gone by forever when a homestead could be secured by camping on it one or two nights a year.
“The time has gone by forever when a homestead could be secured by camping on it one or two nights a year.”
This reflects the transition from frontier speculation to structured resource management. Just as these men sought to 'jump' claims, modern housing shortages in Walla Walla drive similar desperation over property rights and zoning loopholes.
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