The Battle for the Unsurveyed Frontier
A 19th-century court case in Steilacoom exposes the tension between local land speculators and the ideal of the 'actual settler' on the Washington frontier.
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 the District Court of the 3d Judicial District, holding terms at Steilacoom, in the case of Fred A. Clark vs. Charles O'Neal, the allegation of the complaint was that the plaintiff was in the quiet and peaceable possession of what was known as the 'Bastion Donation Claim.' The evidence showed that a portion of the claim was fenced and had been for over five years, but the fence was not put there by the plaintiff; he merely kept it in repair. The plaintiff had never resided on the claim, and there was no house or dwelling on it. The court held that while the donation, homestead, and pre-emption laws were meant to put the public domain into the possession of actual settlers, the plaintiff was merely attempting to hold land through 'constructive possession.' The court ruled that one cannot monopolize a county by covering it with cattle to exclude others who might wish to become bona fide settlers. If a citizen is in actual possession, the courts will protect him, but he cannot hold land against other citizens of the United States by constructive possession.
“To concede him the right to hold one acre that way would give him the right to hold thousands. In fact he might monopolize a county and cover it with cattle and exclude others who might wish to become actual bona fide settlers.”
This 1872 ruling reflects a foundational struggle in Washington history: the tension between speculators holding vast tracts of 'unimproved' land and the state's desperate need for housing and settlement. It echoes the contemporary fight in Seattle and beyond, where land banking and speculation continue to challenge the availability of land for actual residents.
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