The Paper Town in the Canyon
Speculators filed a plat for 'National Park City,' a townsite consisting of 1,960 lots, some located on a sheer, uninhabitable basaltic mountain.
A gigantic scheme to take in the gullible was developed this week by the filing with Auditor Ellis of the plat of National Park City, a paper town, located about twelve miles up the Yakima canyon. The plat covers about 145 acres, and is in sec. 3, twp 14, range 19 east, which was assessed last year to the Northern Pacific railroad at $80, or 12 cents an acre. The townsite embraces 1960 twenty-five feet lots, some of which are a thousand feet up in the air, on the top of a bald basaltic mountain. The deed to the townsite was made by Jay N. Leonard and Mattie K. Leonard to Barlow Gleeb, of Tacoma. The first intimation here of National Park City was the receipt by the auditor of deeds to lots, with the request of the purchasers that they be filed for record. Auditor Ellis notified the parties that there was no plat of any such town in his office, but on Tuesday the plat was received and entered, as it was drawn up in proper form and regularly certified to.
“A gigantic scheme to take in the gullible.”
Real estate speculation in the Pacific Northwest has historically relied on selling the dream of 'opportunity' to outsiders, regardless of the terrain. This story is a classic 'boom' era grift that mirrors the speculative excesses seen in current land and crypto-asset bubbles.
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