The Battle for the Bay
A federal judge rules that Commencement Bay belongs to the state, paving the way for industrial rail expansion over local Indigenous land claims.
The story, cleaned up
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Judge Hanford's decision on the tidelands case was so complete and plain that there should be no further hesitancy on the part of investors to go ahead and plan for big things. The fundamental principle that the national government could not give title to shore lands to Indians because the shore lands are always the property of the state, ought to set at rest any misgivings as to the outcome of the litigation, if it is appealed. The present holders of the tidelands secured them from the state, the rightful owner, and it is not thought any court of reputation will ever overturn the Hanford decision. But even should the supreme court finally decide the Indians and Dot William Jones and Jim Ashton and others own the tidelands that would not stop progress in Tacoma. It would simply mean that the railways would pay their money to Indians instead of to Jones, Ashton, et al. Judge Hanford, in his decision, showed plainly that the day of using Commencement Bay for a fishing pond is past. Commerce has taken possession of it. The world is coming into it to do business. Nothing can turn back the wheels of the great steamers that are bearing the riches of the world to and from Tacoma.
“Judge Hanford, in his decision, showed plainly that the day of using Commencement bay for a fishing pond is past.”
This editorial reflects the era's relentless drive to prioritize industrial waterfront development over Indigenous land rights, a recurring theme in Tacoma’s geography. The legal status of Commencement Bay was a central friction point in the city's transformation from a natural resource site to a global industrial port.
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