The Sham Colony of Whatcom County
Federal investigators expose a fraudulent scheme to seize timber lands using dummy 'pre-emption' entries.
The commissioner for the general land office has held for cancellation several pre-emption cash entries in Whatcom County. These entries were part of thirteen original claims known in the land office as a part of the 'New York colony' group, alleged to have been taken in the interest of one Charles H. Jones of Jamestown, N. Y. Special Agent James A. McCormick reported that the entrymen never resided upon their claims, but boarded and lodged together on Jones' claim. The men were relatives and employees brought from Iowa and New York under contract to file entries for his benefit. Jones built a single log house and used it as a boarding house for his twelve 'entrymen' to fulfill the letter of the law, while the land remained mere timber speculation.
“Jones returned to New York as soon as the entry was made, and, his entry was a mere incident in the acquisition of a large body of timber for speculation only.”
This reflects the 19th-century 'land grab' culture that defined early Washington development, where monopolies leveraged loopholes to consolidate natural resources. It mirrors modern debates over the privatization of public lands and the consolidation of rural property by outside investment entities.
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