The 'Seattle Idea': A Warning Against Corporate Territorial Grabs
In an 1885 editorial, local papers sounded the alarm over the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company’s attempt to claim vast swaths of Seattle’s waterfront and tide lands.
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 to be hoped that the rival cities of Tacoma and Seattle should not be dragged into Territorial politics; but the 'Seattle Idea'—that is, the claim of the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company—is an insult to the interests of the city. Whatever the company prefers, it is not intended that her devoted head should be the subject of the indignant wrath of the voters of the Territory. If they think that the 'Seattle Idea' movement will not figure in the next election, they should not force it into the arena of partisan politics. If they do not wish to make him a hero, they should not make one of him.
Meanwhile, the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company has issued a public notice asserting its exclusive right to occupy tide lands south of King Street. Having acquired these rights through Territorial acts and federal conveyance, the company has declared its intent to erect wharves and other structures on the waterfront, warning all persons to refrain from encroaching on or entering upon these lands.
“If they think that the 'Seattle Idea' movement will not figure in the next election, they should not force it into the arena of partisan politics.”
This 1885 dispute over corporate ownership of the Seattle waterfront and tide lands echoes the century-long struggle for public access to the city’s shorelines. Much like today’s battles over private development versus public waterfront usage, the 'Seattle Idea' highlighted the tension between industrial expansion and the collective rights of the citizenry.
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