The Land Office Rules for Lowe
A landmark land dispute, long considered impossible to resolve, has finally been decided by the federal government.
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 Lowe contest, which has been locally famous ever since the city was founded, has been decided by the general land office at Washington in favor of Lowe and against the railroad company. The tract involved includes the roller flour mill, and extends into the town. Land Agent Paul Schulte had sold or given in exchange for lots in the Old Town, some of the lots platted from this tract—notably Col. Cock’s highly improved place and two houses owned by Mrs. Parker. The decision affirms that made by the local land officers at the time of the hearing, but it will surprise some who could not see how land could be taken up as a homestead with a mill and houses upon it and part of a platted city within its limits. This tract alone will make Mr. Lowe rich, if not reversed on appeal.
“It will surprise some who could not see how land could be taken up as a homestead with a mill and houses upon it and part of a platted city within its limits.”
Land entitlement and ownership battles are the foundational history of North Yakima. Disputes over homesteading versus corporate land grants continue to shadow land-use conversations in growing urban centers today.
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