The Fight Over Northern Pacific Land Grants
A high-stakes political battle in the U.S. Senate over land worth thousands of dollars per acre near Puyallup.
Senator Van Wyck introduced a resolution in the Senate calling upon the Secretary of the Interior to withhold patents for lands claimed by the Northern Pacific Railroad near the Puyallup coal fields. It was argued that the short line in question was not part of the main road, and therefore the company was not entitled to the land, which was valued at $200 to $1,000 per acre. Senator Van Wyck stated that Senator Dolph was attempting to prevent the forfeiture of these lands, using his influence on the Senate Committee on Public Lands to stall the bill.
“The lands sought to be patented were worth $200 to $1,000 per acre.”
The concentration of land ownership and the struggle over public versus private control of natural resources—like coal and timber—was a defining conflict of early Washington. This corporate-political tension remains a persistent theme in Pacific Northwest development.
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