The Sawmill Scandal: Henry Yesler’s Long Legal War
Before the city grew, Seattle’s founding titan was locked in a decade-long, bitter courtroom battle over his sawmill, revealing the ruthless undercurrents of the frontier economy.
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.
In your issue of Nov. 23, you state that during the discussion in court, Mr. James McNaught, as attorney for a number of the persons in interest, made a proposition to compromise all the differences existing between Yesler and Colman, which by many was considered fair and equitable. Inasmuch as the ex parte statement made by you, that the proposition is 'fair and equitable,' may mislead persons not conversant with the facts, I deem it proper to furnish you a brief statement concerning the offers of compromise which I have made from time to time.
I sold the Seattle sawmill property to Mr. Colman in Sept. 1876, for $4,000. I made this sale in order to raise means to pay off a large indebtedness. About a year and a half elapsed, during which time frequent demands were made on Mr. Colman to pay, but he refused. Before any suit was instituted, I made various offers of compromise. I offered to take the mill back and take a small rent, or to extend payment. I was finally compelled to bring suit to enforce the specific performance of the contract, and secured a judgment for $53,000. Pending the appeal, the mill was destroyed by fire, whereby my security was greatly diminished.
After the appeal was dismissed, the mill property (minus the mill, which had been consumed by fire) was finally sold on execution for $10,000, and a persistent fight was made by defendant against the confirmation of the sale. During this time, Mr. Colman transferred $120,000 in railroad stock and conveyed valuable city property to persons in his employ. He executed a mortgage of $22,000 on the Mackintosh corner brick to a San Francisco firm and disposed of all his other property until there was nothing left in sight. I have been compelled during all these years to incur a large indebtedness for counsel fees. I have been compelled to pay over $13,000 cash every year on my indebtedness and to deprive myself of many comforts of life. All losses could have been avoided by the defendant if he had paid the debt according to the contract. I am still willing to make a fair and equitable settlement.
“I have been compelled during all these years to incur a large indebtedness for counsel fees... and to deprive myself of many comforts of life.”
Henry Yesler is remembered as a founding father, but this letter captures a side rarely celebrated: the brutal, litigious reality of early Seattle real estate. His struggle to collect debts and his frustration with 'evasive' opponents mirror the ongoing tension between property development, legal maneuvering, and financial fragility that remains a hallmark of the city's housing and land markets.
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