The Dry Creek Deadlock
A long-standing dispute over a proposed road route on local farms finally reaches a stalemate, forcing the county to call in private arbitrators.
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 question of establishing a new road through the farms of Jesse Drumheller, J. J. Gallaher and Obadiah Osborn on lower Dry Creek is in a fair way of adjustment. The matter has been before the county commissioners for several months, but the board has been unable to get the people interested to agree. The road, petitioned for by Frank J. Kent and others, would pass through the farms of Osborn, Gallaher and Drumheller. Osborn objected to the route, filing a claim for $1,175 in damages and a counter-petition suggesting a private thoroughfare through his and the Drumheller farm. With both sides persistent and the commissioners unable to broker a deal, all parties have now agreed to submit the matter to arbitration. One arbitrator will be selected by Osborn, one by the board, and the two will choose a third. The decision will be final, including the assessment of damages for the land taken.
“Both sides have been very persistent in holding to their respective choices of routes, and the board was unable to accomplish anything.”
Conflicts over land use and eminent domain are a perennial feature of Walla Walla County's growth. This 1903 local dispute underscores the historical friction between private agricultural land rights and public infrastructure needs.
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