The Great Northern’s $70,000 Lawsuit: How J.J. Hill’s Empire Clashed with the State
A bitter legal battle erupts between railroad magnate James J. Hill and W.V. Haynes over land rights at Smith Cove, revealing the intense struggle for control of Seattle’s waterfront.
James J. Hill, of the Great Northern Railway, and the Canada Montana Railroad Company are made defendants in a suit for $70,000 brought by W.V. Haynes in the superior court. Mr. Haynes also sought a preliminary injunction against any further improvement by the Great Northern at Smith's Cove, claiming that under the terms of a contract with the state, he has exclusive control of Mill Island and Mill Creek.
The suit charges that if the canal is not enlarged by the defendants, it will interfere with plaintiff carrying out his contract with the state, and so make him liable to pay the damages given to the state for the faithful performance of the contract. The company has been demurred to the tune of $70,000, but demands have been made against the defendants for that amount.
Meanwhile, the Great Northern Railway is expanding its operations in the West. John A. Miller, general agent of the freight department, who heads quarters at Seattle, has been placed in charge of all business west of Wenatchee and from the Fraser River north to the Columbia River south. Mr. George P. Cave, traveling agent for the territory north of Seattle, will be succeeded as free agent in the city by Mr. H. L. Geary.
This 1904 lawsuit highlights the fierce competition for waterfront real estate that defined early Seattle, a struggle that echoes today's debates over port development, housing density, and public access to the shore. The involvement of J.J. Hill, one of the city's most powerful 'robber barons,' underscores how railroad interests often dictated urban planning long before modern zoning laws.
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