The Railroad Wanted 400 Feet; the Landowners Said 200
When the Northern Pacific tried to fence a 400-foot right-of-way near Bucoda, neighboring property owners pulled up the posts and dared the railroad to sue.
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 Northern Pacific people have been having a lively time at Bucoda, and have applied to the court for relief. The railroad claims a right of way 200 feet wide on each side of the track, or an entire width of 400 feet, and as the land on both sides is used extensively for grazing purposes, the company proposed to erect fences along the track. Owners of the property in question claim that the railroad is entitled to but 100 feet for the right-of-way, and look upon the railroad employees as trespassers.
In the complaint the plaintiff, the Northern Pacific R. R., charges Joseph Gibson and Herman Bannse with interfering with the work and alleges that when the railroad employees dig the holes for the posts, Gibson and Bannse, and their force of employees, fill them up and tear out the posts and by force of threats are preventing the company from proceeding with the work. The defendants claim the railroad company to be the trespasser. The railroad asks for a restraining order against the interference of the defendants and also seeks to recover absolute possession of the premises for 200 feet on each side of the track. The defendants will appear to answer in a few days.
“The railroad claims a right of way 200 feet wide on each side of the track... Owners of the property in question claim that the railroad is entitled to but 100 feet.”
The Northern Pacific's demand for a 400-foot corridor near Bucoda was a raw exercise of railroad power over rural landowners. Modern fights over rail easements, pipelines, and transmission corridors still turn on the same question: how much land can a private company claim for the public good?
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