Lincoln Orders Sale of Washington Public Lands
A sweeping federal proclamation sets the stage for a massive auction of land parcels across the Washington Territory, excluding donation claims and mineral tracts.
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.
In pursuance of law, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and make known that public sales will be held at the undermentioned Land Offices in the Territory of Washington at the periods hereinafter designated. At the land office at Olympia, commencing on Monday, the thirteenth day of July next, for the disposal of the public lands heretofore unoffered. Lands claimed under the Donation Laws will be excluded from the sales. No mineral lands, or tracts containing mineral deposits, are to be offered at the public sales. Lands appropriated by law for the use of schools, military and other purposes, or lands on which applications have been filed under the provisions of the Homestead Law, will be excluded from the sales.
“Lands appropriated by law for the use of schools, military and other purposes, or lands on which applications have been filed under the provisions of the Homestead Law, will be excluded from the sales.”
This proclamation reflects the federal government's aggressive 19th-century push to formalize property ownership in the West. Today, the legacies of these land disposals—and the exclusions of Indigenous title—are central to ongoing debates about land stewardship and equity in the Pacific Northwest.
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