The Landlord’s Lie: How a Seattle Developer Stole His Own Property
In 1888, real estate magnate W.B. Bourn Jr. was forced to publish a public defense after discovering that his father had secretly transferred the title of his home and land to another party—leaving him with nothing but a contract.
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.
Bourn's Title to Burke's Second Addition.
That some of the heirs of the Burke claim say that Bourn has no title is a statement which has been met by publication of the facts, which are in full public view. The case rests on an arrangement of Wm. B. Bourn, Sr., and his son, Wm. B. Bourn, Jr. The elder Bourn had written contract to do rather for himself for several of his sons on Lake Washington. Bourn paid for them, and also all of the expenses incident to the purchase, but had the title passed to and in the name of Patterson.
Wm. B. Bourn, Sr., died in 1874, and the affairs of his estate were administered by his son until he came of age in 1879. In the meantime, he was struck with paralysis, became idiotic and an inmate of an asylum. Patterson was entrusted with the funds from him for $35, a unit claim of some of the wards of land, the title to which he was not the heir of Bourn; the premises covered by this were 30 acres in Seattle, which is now Burke's Second Addition, and also about the same quantity of land on Bainbridge Island. Two of said tracts at the time of the deed were from $15 to $20 per acre.
By this deed it was intended that Bourn should be informed of all the facts detailed and within a day every one for that he had before his death, monthly the same consideration as if Patterson had been in full possession. No such thing has ever been done by any one.
The foundation claimed from an honest motive arose from Patterson's act and that of Mr. Bourn, Sr.
THOMPSON, THOMAS & CO., Attorneys for Wm. B. Bourn, Jr.
This 1888 dispute over property title highlights how early Seattle’s land boom was rife with complex family trusts and opaque ownership structures. It mirrors modern struggles where developers or heirs face legal battles over property rights, often leaving individuals vulnerable to corporate or familial maneuvering in a city defined by rapid real estate speculation.
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