The Industrial Grasping of the Tideflats
A legal notice from 1885 reveals the early enclosure of Seattle's waterfront by the railroad, shaping the city's geography for the next century.
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.
Whereas, by deed bearing date August 18, 1883, the City of Seattle conveyed to the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad and Transportation Company, all the tidelands south of King street, in said city of Seattle, in, along, around and about Elliott Bay, from extreme high to extreme low tide and deep water sand. Whereas, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington, by an Act approved November 8, 1883, ratified and confirmed said grant and conveyance upon certain conditions... and whereas, the said Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad and Transportation Company has transferred and conveyed all of said lands to the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company; notice is hereby given that the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company is the sole and exclusive owner of all said tide lands and has the exclusive right to occupy said lands and to erect wharves and other structures thereon.
“Notice is hereby given that the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company is the sole and exclusive owner of all said tide lands.”
This notice marks the exact moment the public tidelands of Elliott Bay were handed over to private railroad monopolies. It serves as a stark reminder that Seattle's massive waterfront industrial footprint—which we continue to debate regarding public vs. private access today—was secured by legislative fiat in the 1880s.
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