The Struggle Over Seattle's Waterfront
A legal analysis from 1889 reasserts the state's sovereignty over Seattle's tide-lands, setting the stage for future city development.
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.
It is the common law rule that on tide-water, ownership extends only to the line of high water mark. This rule is derived from the law of easements which constitute public highways of all tide-waters and assign their control to the state only. Consequently, the upland owner has no right of ownership beyond the line of high water mark except by special grant from the state. In regard to the tide-lands along the city front of Seattle and elsewhere on the Sound, it would seem that room for controversy as to the state's ownership could not exist. The state has the power to sell these lands, provided it does not interfere with the free and unfettered navigation of its rivers, bays, and inlets. The grantee of the state takes the land subject to every easement growing out of the right of navigation inherent in the public.
“The grantee of the state takes the land subject to every easement growing out of the right of navigation inherent in the public.”
This 1889 legal briefing addresses the foundational question of who owns the space between high and low tide, a persistent issue in Seattle's history. Today, the management of this 'public trust' remains a central tension as the city balances private waterfront development with environmental protections and public access to the Sound.
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