Before Washington became a state early pioneers like Yesler were already building on the tide lands of Elliott Bay and elsewhere around Puget Sound. Known as “tideland jumpers”, these early developers were actually building their piers and mills on the waterfront illegally. Before statehood, the federal government held all tide lands in trust for the territory.
When Washington became a state in 1889 the tidelands were publicly owned but the state constitution didn’t provide any language that granted access to the saltwater for the upland property owners. During the 1889/1890 legislature the state solved this challenge by granting itself the authority to sell public tidelands thus creating a revenue stream. The sale of public tide lands by the state lasted until 1971.
In 1890 the tide lands were divided into three classes.
First Class tide lands embraced all tide lands situated within or in front of the corporate limits of any city, or within two miles on either side. Second Class tide lands were those that lay beyond two miles of any incorporated city or town where there was located valuable improvements. Third Class embraced all other tide lands. However, this first description created March 26, 1890 had no specific language that defined the outer boundary of third class tide lands.
The history of tidelands is a fascinating subject and full of controversy and litigation. In the video, Tim Daniels, CTO for The Talon Group, gives a brief conversation about purchasing Seattle waterfront property and some of the title issues you’ll want to be aware of concerning tidelands.
Watch the video in full screen HD... click the (watch it on YouTube) button.
We shot the video just off Beach Dr SW in West Seattle on June 15th, 2011... the 2nd lowest tide of the year. The morning was beautiful and the wildlife amazing. Our performers included the Talon eagle, a blue heron, a lot of crows, seagulls, crabs, a huge gooey duck, and a large starfish.
If you are curious about tidelands and the history of the Seattle waterfront, here's a few links...
Investing in land? This is an advertisement from 1907 about the great opportunities to make more profit by investing in the Tide Lands of Seattle by R. Cooper Willis.
Paul Dorpat, a longtime Seattle historian has a wonderful history of the Seattle Waterfront posted to his blog. Also check out his Seattle Now & Then: Antique Alki Swimwear. Paul has a fun, down to earth conversational writing style and his posts include lots of great old pictures and maps.
Also, here's a Google timeline search: History of Washington State Tidelands 1880 - 2011
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