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87-554: The Mussel Slough Tragedy was a dispute over land titles between settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) that took place on May 11, 1880, on a farm located 5.6 miles (9 km) northwest of Hanford, California , in the central San Joaquin Valley , leaving seven people dead. The exact history of the incident has been the source of some disagreement, largely because popular anti-railroad sentiment in

174-588: A petition which read, Through sheer energy and perseverance by the investment of our means ... and relying firmly upon the rights we had acquired as American citizens, and upon the pledges of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company [in regard to low land prices], we converted a desert into one of the garden spots of the State. Besides the 1874 Supreme Court ruling, a critical moment came on December 15, 1879, when Judge Lorenzo Sawyer of

261-490: A break in the chain of ownership. Each of the United States have different procedures for a quiet title action . However, most personal property items do not have a formal document of title. For such items, possession is the simplest indication of title, unless the circumstances give rise to suspicion about the possessor's ownership of the item. Proof of legal acquisition, such as a bill of sale or purchase receipt,

348-417: A contract for the sale of land is executed, equitable [interest/title] passes to the seller to the buyer. When the conditions on the sale contract have been met, legal title passes to the buyer in what is known as closing . In England and Wales , the terms "purchaser" and "vendor" are used. Properties that are sold on the basis of equitable title have a legal chain of title intact, and a recorded transfer with

435-495: A friend of Judah, told Leland Stanford that Judah had a feasible route for a railroad across the Sierras, and urged Stanford to meet with Judah. In early 1861, Marsh, Judah and Strong met with Collis P. Huntington , Leland Stanford , Mark Hopkins Jr. and Charles Crocker to obtain financial backing. Papers were filed to incorporate the new company, and on April 30, 1861, the eight of them, along with Lucius Anson Booth, became

522-434: A group of about twenty people, led by settlers James N. Patterson and William Braden, left to confront them (the historical marker indicates that the two local men were Deputy U.S. Marshals, which was not in fact the case). However, the rumors were only partially true; in addition to serving eviction notices, the group was also purchasing land (and any improvements) from settlers who had refused to pay SP's asking price. This act

609-458: A joyous crowd of 3,000 in Hanford. Such was the anti-railroad sentiment that the five were looked upon as heroes by many across California, and those killed were considered martyrs who had given their lives for a cause. Nevertheless, the affair brought such a shock that people were sobered. The legal battle had been lost, the railroad had won, and there was not enough public support for changing

696-539: A leader in the Settler's League). They were convicted in federal court (with Judge Sawyer presiding) and sentenced to eight months in prison and fined $ 300 each. Their time spent in imprisonment was hardly difficult. Three of the men's wives were allowed to live with them, and Susan Curtis, daughter of one of the jailers, fell in love with and later married Braden. Upon their release in September 1881, they were greeted by

783-545: A ledge for the Central Pacific has been repeated and exaggerated by uncritical historians. There is reliable, primary-source evidence stating that surveyors used safety ropes while staking out the route, but nothing about construction workers using ropes. Digging the cut was done downward from the top, and from each horizontal end of the cut. It is conceivable that a safety rope would have been useful when digging an initial footpath, that could then be enlarged into

870-492: A lien upon the railroads and all their fixtures, were repaid in full (and with interest) by the company as and when they became due. Sec. 10 of the 1864 amending Pacific Railroad Act (13 Statutes at Large, 356) additionally authorized the company to issue its own "First Mortgage Bonds" in total amounts up to (but not exceeding) that of the bonds issued by the United States. Such company-issued securities had priority over

957-403: A pending court case could be resolved. However, there was bad blood between Walter J. Crow and one of the settler's party, James Harris, and Mills Hartt had previously threatened to kill any "sandlappers" (a derisive term for homesteaders, equivalent to the modern day " redneck "), and an argument broke out between them. Hartt opened fire at Harris, who returned fire and fatally wounded Hartt. Crow,

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1044-399: A picnic was being held in Hanford which was to feature a speech by pro-settler former California Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry (who was actually unable to appear), when word reached the picnickers that four "railroad men" - U.S. Marshal Alonso Poole, SP land appraiser William Clark, and two locals, Walter J. Crow and Mills Hartt - were actively evicting settlers on railroad lands, and

1131-478: A rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California , to complete most of the western part of the " First transcontinental railroad " in North America. Incorporated in 1861, CPRR ceased independent operations in 1885 when the railroad was leased to the Southern Pacific Railroad . Its assets were formally merged into Southern Pacific in 1959. Following

1218-481: A shelf, but there was no reason to be suspended by ropes to dig or drill into the face of the cut. It wasn't done that way. And, most of the Chinese labor was not hired until later. So, the gangs that did the digging at Cape Horn were probably Irish. Central Pacific Director Charles Marsh had extensive civil engineering experience in projects of this nature, both from planning an earlier proposed railroad into

1305-413: A skilled marksman who was armed with a shotgun, jumped down from his wagon and opened fire, killing Harris and four other members of the settler's party. After the initial exchange of gunfire ended, Crow fled the scene, but was shot in the back about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) away by an unknown assailant before he could reach safety. Poole and Clark did not participate in the battle and left immediately after

1392-578: A small portion in what was then Fresno County (later the entire area became part of Kings County after the latter was formed in 1893). The Mussel Slough country took its name from a slough which went from the Kings River to Tulare Lake . This area had remained unsettled as it was a broad, dry plain suitable only for cattle ranching, but could be easily irrigated from the slough. The Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) had originally planned to build its route between San Jose and Southern California along

1479-663: A thing, whether or not one has any right to do so. The right of possession is the legitimacy of possession (with or without actual possession), evidence for which is such that the law will uphold it unless a better claim is proven. The right of property is that right which, if all relevant facts are known (and allowed), defeats all other claims. Each of these may be in a different person. For example, suppose A steals from B something that B had previously bought in good faith from C and that C had earlier stolen from D and that had been an heirloom of D's family for generations but had originally been stolen centuries earlier (though this fact

1566-503: A title can also serve as a permanent legal record of condemnation of property, such as in the case of an automobile junk or salvage title . In the case of real estate , the legal instrument used to transfer title from one person or entity to another is via the deed . A famous rule is that a thief cannot convey good title, so title searches are routine (or highly recommended) for purchases of many types of expensive property (especially real estate). In several counties and municipalities in

1653-457: A trust, one person may own the legal title, such as the trustees . Another person may own the equitable title such as the beneficiary . In countries with a sophisticated private property system, documents of title are commonly used for real estate , motor vehicles , and some types of intangible property. When such documents are used, they are often part of a registration system whereby ownership of such property can be verified. In some cases,

1740-452: Is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in (to) a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest . The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties. It may also refer to a formal document , such as a deed , that serves as evidence of ownership . Conveyance of the document (transfer of title to the property) may be required in order to transfer ownership in

1827-403: Is contributory. The transfer of possession to a good faith purchaser will normally convey title if no document is required. Development and subdivision of real estate property may occur while its title is under dispute from another party. If a suit is resolved in favor of a plaintiff , this renders uncertain the circumstances that allowed the said development to occur, and may result in

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1914-512: Is not always the best (or highest) title, since it is necessarily based on some other person's title. A quiet title action is a lawsuit to resolve with any cloud on title , such as competing claims or rights to real property, for example, missing heirs , tenants , reverters , remainders and lien holders all competing to get ownership to the house or land. Technical problems with title include misspellings, outstanding debt, unrecorded transactions, and any irregularity that might indicate

2001-438: Is now forgotten by all) from E. Here A has the possession, B has an apparent right of possession (as evidenced by the purchase), D has the absolute right of possession (being the best claim that can be proven), and the heirs of E, if they knew it, would have the right of property, which they however could not prove. A good title consists of the combination of these three (possession, right of possession, and right of property) in

2088-488: Is typically established through title reports written up by title insurance companies, which show the history of title ( property abstract and chain of title ) as determined by the recorded public record deeds ; the title report will also show applicable encumbrances such as easements , liens , or covenants . In exchange for insurance premiums, the title insurance company conducts a title search through public records and provides assurance of good title, reimbursing

2175-576: The Mariners' Museum at Newport News, Virginia . Alfred A. Hart was the official photographer of the CPRR construction. The Central Pacific's first three locomotives were of the then common 4-4-0 type, although with the American Civil War raging in the east, they had difficulty acquiring engines from eastern builders, who at times only had smaller 4-2-4 or 4-2-2 types available. Until

2262-664: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Orton , 32 F. 457 (C.C.D. Cal. 1879), that the federal government controlled the railroad land grants, and more importantly, the state could not control ultra vires acts of corporations. Given the legal system's affirmation of its position, the SP began to forcibly remove some of the settlers. Their agents would attempt to serve eviction notices, but often would not find anyone at home, as homeowners knew they were coming. In these cases,

2349-606: The Old Sacramento State Historic Park . Nearly all the company's early correspondence is preserved at Syracuse University , as part of the Collis Huntington Papers collection. It has been released on microfilm (133 reels). The following libraries have the microfilm: University of Arizona at Tucson; and Virginia Commonwealth University at Richmond. Additional collections of manuscript letters are held at Stanford University and

2436-745: The Sacramento Valley Railroad from Sacramento to Folsom, California and was working on the California Central Railroad to extend the former from Folsom to Marysville . Marsh, who had already surveyed a potential railroad route between Sacramento and Nevada City, California, a decade earlier, went with Judah into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they examined the Henness Pass Turnpike Company's route (Marsh

2523-443: The 1880s interpreted the incident as a clear example of corrupt and cold-blooded corporate greed. Muckraking journalists and anti-railroad activists glorified the settlers and used the events as evidence and justification for their anti-corporate crusades. Frank Norris ' 1901 novel The Octopus: A Story of California was inspired by this incident, as was W. C. Morrow 's 1882 novel Blood-Money . May Merrill Miller 's novel First

2610-482: The American South, owners of even-numbered lots who either sold their legitimate claims or were attempting to expand their holdings, merchants who lived in nearby towns, and land speculators. Doyle started a new business to help squatters challenge the SP for titles to the land, but because the SP's rights were never revoked, all of the settlers' claims were denied. Doyle and other leaders appealed to Congress and

2697-528: The Blade includes a fictionalized account of the conflict. The site of the episode is now registered as California Historical Landmark #245. A historical marker on the east side of 14th Avenue, 350   yards (320   m) north of Elder Avenue, memorializes the site. The region known in the late 19th century as the Mussel Slough country was mostly in what was then Tulare County, California , with

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2784-748: The Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco to take and subscribe One Million Dollars to the Capital Stock of the Western Pacific Rail Road Company and the Central Pacific Rail Road Company of California and to provide for the payment of the same and other matters relating thereto" (which was later amended by Section Five of the "Compromise Act" of April 4, 1864). On May 19, 1863,

2871-499: The CPRR remained a corporate entity until 1959, when it was formally merged into Southern Pacific. (It was reorganized in 1899 as the Central Pacific "Railway".) The original right-of-way is now controlled by the Union Pacific , which bought Southern Pacific in 1996. The Union Pacific-Central Pacific (Southern Pacific) main line followed the historic Overland Route from Omaha, Nebraska , to San Francisco Bay . Chinese labor

2958-501: The California State Legislature, but were still rebuffed. The SP did not take any legal action against the squatters at this time, hoping to convert them into customers. It encouraged them to file applications so that they would be given the first option to purchase when sales began, but squatter leaders argued that doing so would affirm the company's rights, which they still believed to be invalid. Some submitted

3045-556: The City and County of San Francisco, and Wilhelm Lowey, Clerk 27 Cal. 655) directing that the Bonds be countersigned and delivered. In 1863 the State legislature's forcing of City and County action became known as the "Dutch Flat Swindle". Critics claimed the CPRR's Big Four intended to build a railroad only as far as Dutch Flat, California , to connect to the Dutch Flat-Donner Pass Wagon Road to monopolize

3132-643: The Crown. This continued to be the law of Canada following the American Revolution. In the United States, Indian title is the subservient title held by Native Americans in the United States to the land they customarily claimed and occupied. It was first recognized in Johnson v. McIntosh , 21 U.S. (8 Wheat ) 543 (1823). It very early became accepted doctrine in this Court that although fee title to lands occupied by Indians when

3219-897: The Dutch Flat-Donner Lake Wagon Road Company. Frustrated, Judah headed off for New York via Panama to raise funds to buy out the Big Four from CPRR and build his trans-Sierra railroad. Unfortunately, Judah contracted yellow fever in Panama and died in New York in November 1863. A replica of the Sacramento, California , Central Pacific Railroad passenger station is part of the California State Railroad Museum , located in

3306-479: The Mussel Slough ranchers, but nevertheless give a fairly one-sided, anti-railroad view of the Mussel Slough affair. Richard Orsi's suggests in his history of the Southern Pacific, Sunset Limited that some common misconceptions about the Mussel Slough affair have been perpetuated through the mythic retellings of Morrow, Post, Royce, and Norris, among others. The significance of the Mussel Slough myth in

3393-453: The SP's route change, stating that it violated the company's original charter. However, despite his stated intentions to do so, Browning did not actually have the authority to revoke the SP's rights to the land (only Congress could do that). Meanwhile, settlers had already begun submitting applications for the railroad lands starting in 1869, in anticipation of the completion of the line. Others without claims began squatting in anticipation that

3480-443: The SP's title would be invalidated. Primary among this latter group was John J. Doyle, who advertised this and caused a land run in the Hanford area. After the railroad was purchased by the " Big Four " in 1868, the new owners were able by 1870 to have their altered route and land rights reconfirmed. Regardless, the squatting continued up through the early 1880s. The types of squatters varied wildly. There were Civil War refugees from

3567-402: The SP, and in one case one farmer who had aligned with the SP had his house burned down. Those supporting the railroads tended to be wealthier than the others, deriding the Settler's League as "a set of demagogues" who were "very anxious to get something for nothing." By late 1879, the SP found that sales of its parcels had been severely reduced, despite having lowered the asking prices. Although

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3654-626: The Sierras, and from building ditches and flumes through those mountains for his water company. Construction of the road was financed primarily by 30-year, 6% U.S. government bonds authorized by Sec. 5 of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 . They were issued at the rate of $ 16,000 ($ 265,000 in 2017 dollars) per mile of tracked grade completed east of the designated base of the Sierra Nevada range near Roseville, CA where California state geologist Josiah Whitney had determined were

3741-607: The Supreme Court of the State of California ordered them under Writs of Mandamus ( The People of the State of California ex rel the Central Pacific Railroad Company vs. Henry P. Coon, Mayor; Henry M. Hale, Auditor; and Joseph S. Paxson, Treasurer, of the City and County of San Francisco. 25 Cal. 635) and in 1865, a legal judgment against Loewy ( The People ex rel The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California vs. The Board of Supervisors of

3828-468: The US a standard title search (generally accompanied by title insurance ) is required under the law as a part of ownership transfer. Paramount title is the best title in fee simple available for the true owner. The person who is owner of real property with paramount title has the higher (or better, or "superior") right in an action to quiet title . This concept is inherently a relative one. Paramount title

3915-594: The United States, although sales of real estate by non-resident aliens are subject to certain special taxation rules. Prior to the establishment of the United States, title to Indian lands in lands controlled by Britain in North America was governed by the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763. This proclamation by King George III reserved title in land to the Indians, subject to alienation only by

4002-478: The agents then tried removing the furniture from the homes, but the Settler's League would just put the furniture back after the agents' departure. Finally, it escalated to the point at which the agents would then disassemble the houses, but again, volunteers would just put them back together. The settlers were not above their own brand of justice, either. The League harassed and threatened railroad agents and their sympathizers as well as those who had purchased land from

4089-481: The applications, but most did not. In 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad completed work to Goshen from the north and the Southern Pacific was to construct the southern portion (although not generally known by the public at the time, the two railroad systems were owned and operated by the same people although they were technically separate corporations). The SP's brochures had stated the price of

4176-513: The asking price was significantly greater than that ($ 8–$ 20/acre), which the SP attributed to rising property values because of the laying of the railroad, although many settlers believed it was due to their own improvements such as irrigation , housing, fences, and barns. Some paid for their land, but most did not. Settlers protested against the railroads, but to no avail. A bill in the United States Congress that would have fixed

4263-405: The coast, but in 1866 Congress authorized the railroad companies to build a line through the area, and created numbered lots of one square mile (2.6 km; 640 acres) each. The SP then decided to reroute. It received the odd-numbered sections of land, totaling about 25,000 acres (101 km) worth. The even-numbered sections were given to homesteaders by the government and were not subject to

4350-645: The colonists arrived became vested in the sovereign – first the discovering European nation and later the original states and the United States ;– a right of occupancy in the Indian tribes was nevertheless recognized. That right, sometimes called Indian Title and good against all but the sovereign, could be terminated only by sovereign act. Once the United States was organized and the Constitution adopted, these tribal rights to Indian lands became

4437-753: The completion of the Pacific Railroad Surveys in 1855, several national proposals to build a transcontinental railroad failed because of political disputes over slavery . With the secession of the South in 1861, the modernizers in the Republican Party controlled the US Congress . They passed legislation in 1862 authorizing the central rail route with financing in the form of land grants and government railroad bond, which were all eventually repaid with interest. The government and

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4524-559: The completion of the Transcontinental rail link and the railroad's opening of its own shops, all locomotives had to be purchased from builders in the northeastern U.S. The engines had to be dismantled, loaded on a ship, which would embark on a four-month journey that went around South America's Cape Horn until arriving in Sacramento where the locomotives would be unloaded, re-assembled, and placed in service. Locomotives at

4611-483: The electors of the City and County of San Francisco passed this bond by a vote of 6,329 to 3,116, in a highly controversial Special Election. The City and County's financing of the investment through the issuance and delivery of Bonds was delayed for two years, when Mayor Henry P. Coon , and the County Clerk, Wilhelm Loewy, each refused to countersign the Bonds. It took legal actions to force them to do so: in 1864

4698-647: The entire work force. The " Golden spike ", connecting the western railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah , was hammered on May 10, 1869. Coast-to-coast train travel in eight days became possible, replacing months-long sea voyages and lengthy, hazardous travel by wagon trains. In 1885 the Central Pacific Railroad was acquired by the Southern Pacific Company as a leased line. Technically

4785-496: The events which followed. Given the SP's history of encouraging settlement and development along its lines, land prices were expected to appreciate considerably. Furthermore, the SP's standard practice was to allow settlers to move in on its land as long as they agreed to purchase it when the time came. Lobbying by land speculators led Secretary of the Interior Orville Hickman Browning to reject

4872-399: The exclusive province of the federal law. Indian title, recognized to be only a right of occupancy, was extinguishable only by the United States. Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida , 414 U.S. 661, 667 (1974). The usual method of extinguishing Indian title was by treaty . Gaeilge:Teideal (réadmhaoin) Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad ( CPRR ) was

4959-524: The first board of directors of the Central Pacific Railroad. Planned by Judah, the Central Pacific Railroad was promoted by Congress by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 which authorized the issuance of government bonds and land grants for each mile that was constructed. Stanford served as president (at the same time he was elected governor of California), Huntington served as vice-president in charge of fundraising and purchasing, Hopkins

5046-479: The geologic start of the Sierras' foothills. Sec. 11 of the Act also provided that the issuance of bonds "shall be treble the number per mile" (to $ 48,000) for tracked grade completed over and within the two mountain ranges (but limited to a total of 300 miles (480 km) at this rate), and "doubled" (to $ 32,000) per mile of completed grade laid between the two mountain ranges. The U.S. Government Bonds, which constituted

5133-795: The history of California and the Southern Pacific Railroad is evident from a quote by Theodore Roosevelt , who as president focused considerable time and energy in redressing the wrongs and abuses of corporate monopolies throughout the U.S. After reading Norris' The Octopus , Roosevelt stated he was "inclined to think [...] that conditions were worse in California than elsewhere." These mythic narratives about Mussel Slough helped bolster public anti-railroad sentiments, and encouraged continued rebellion among homesteaders, squatters and poachers against railroad land agents, who "came to accept squatters as an ordinary, if disagreeable, part of

5220-517: The incident, possibly defusing tensions enough to avoid further bloodshed. One of the survivors of the gunfight, settler Edwin Haymaker, died soon after of pneumonia , having apparently been weakened by wounds received in the shootout. Afterwards, seventeen people were indicted by a federal grand jury and five were found guilty of willfully interfering with a marshal in performance of his duties (Braden, Patterson, Pryor, Purcell, and John J. Doyle,

5307-490: The insured if a dispute over the title arises. In the case of vehicle ownership, a simple vehicle title document may be issued by a governmental agency. The main rights in the title bundle are usually: The rights in real property may be separated further, examples including: California prevented aliens (mainly Asians ) from holding title to land until the law was declared unconstitutional in 1952. Currently there are no restrictions on foreign ownership of land in

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5394-569: The issue in Schulenberg v. Harriman 21 Wall. 44 (1874), ruling that the SP's change of route did not invalidate its charter. Thus, the SP was justified to reclaim the land without compensation unless the settlers were willing to pay their asking price, now up to $ 35/acre. Still, the Settler's League, which was formed in 1878 in opposition to the SP's Mussel Slough actions, even attempted to appeal directly to President Rutherford B. Hayes during his visit to San Francisco in 1880, presenting him

5481-570: The land business". Despite the nationwide attention the incident received, the Mussel Slough Tragedy is not remembered much today as well as later gunfights such as the gunfight at the O.K. Corral . Richard Maxwell Brown argues in No Duty to Retreat that the Mussel Slough shootout did not fit the mold of the gunfight/hero myth, which usually ignores such factors as ideology, and social and economic conflict, thus not implanting it in

5568-405: The land would be "$ 2.50 per acre and upwards", leading many people to mistakenly believe that $ 2.50/acre was a set price. Furthermore, other brochures indicated that any improvements the settlers made to the land would not be counted when the prices were fixed.However, when the settlers, who had spent a great deal of money and time in building their houses and farms, attempted to acquire their land,

5655-527: The law courts in England. Equitable titles were those recognized by the English chancery courts. Both of these concepts were adopted by the various states upon their creation except, possibly, those based upon European Civil Law , such as Louisiana . Most states have merged the law and equity courts into a single court system, although there may still be law and chancery divisions in some of the systems. When

5742-431: The local municipality. Legal title is actual ownership of the property as when the property has been bought, the seller paid in full and a deed or title is properly recorded. Equitable title separates from legal title upon the death of the legal title holder (owner). For example: When a person having legal title to property dies, heirs at law or beneficiaries per the last will, automatically receive an equitable interest in

5829-594: The lore of the American Old West . Six victims of the shooting were carried to the porch of the Brewer house, which was shaded by a tall oak tree. The tree became famously known as the Tragedy Oak. It blew down in a storm in the early 1990s. A piece of the tree was saved as a memorial and is on display at nearby Pioneer Elementary School in Hanford. Title (property) In property law , title

5916-464: The lucrative mining traffic, and not push the track east of Dutch Flat into the more challenging and expensive High Sierra effort. CPRR's chief engineer, Theodore Judah, also argued against such a road and hence against the Big Four, fearing that its construction would siphon money from CPRR's paramount trans-Sierra railroad effort. Despite Judah's strong objection, the Big Four incorporated in August 1863

6003-447: The original Government Bonds. (Local and state governments also aided the financing, although the City and County of San Francisco did not do so willingly. This materially slowed early construction efforts.) Sec. 3 of the 1862 Act granted the railroads 10 square miles (26 km ) of public land for every mile laid, except where railroads ran through cities and crossed rivers. This grant was apportioned in 5 sections on alternating sides of

6090-426: The policy of granting public lands to railroads. The only concession SP made was to reduce the land price slightly. In the end, most people (including Doyle, who later reconciled and became good friends with Collis Potter Huntington , one of the SP's leaders) simply stayed where they were and purchased the land. Squatting continued for years, though, despite the SP's best attempts to squash it. The Mussel Slough affair

6177-415: The price at $ 2.50/acre failed to pass. The Southern Pacific then filed and won a lawsuit in 1878 against the settlers, amidst allegations of court bias (former California Governor Leland Stanford was also president of SP). The SP was convinced of its legal ownership of the land and felt it should have the freedom to set whatever prices it deemed fit for its property. The U.S. Supreme Court finally settled

6264-417: The property to another person. Title is distinct from possession , a right that often accompanies ownership but is not necessarily sufficient to prove it (for example squatting ). In many cases, possession and title may each be transferred independently of the other. For real property, land registration and recording provide public notice of ownership information. Possession is the actual holding of

6351-429: The property. When an executor or administrator qualifies, that person acquires the legal title, subject to divestment when the estate has been administered so as to allow for the lawful passing of the legal title to those having an equitable interest. The resulting merger of the legal and equitable gives rise to the "perfect title", often referred to as marketable title. Legal and equitable title also arises in trust . In

6438-499: The railroad for the events as they unfolded in San Joaquin and romanticize the ranchers according to a Jeffersonian agrarian ideal. Ambrose Bierce attempted to lionize Crow, calling him "this bravest of Americans." Later novels depicting the affair, such as the philosopher Josiah Royce 's The Feud of Oakfield Creek (1887) and novelist Frank Norris ' The Octopus (1901) are slightly less hagiographic in their portrayals of

6525-493: The railroad refused to buy engines from Baldwin, and three former Western Pacific Railroad (which the CP had absorbed in 1870) engines were the only Baldwin engines owned by the Central Pacific. The Central Pacific's dispute with Baldwin remained unresolved until well after the road had been acquired by the Southern Pacific. In the 1870s, the road opened up its own locomotive construction facilities in Sacramento. Central Pacific's 173

6612-644: The railroad, with each section measuring 0.2 miles (320 m) by 10 miles (16 km). These grants were later doubled to 20 square miles (52 km ) per mile of grade by the 1864 Act. Although the Pacific Railroad eventually benefited the Bay Area, the City and County of San Francisco obstructed financing it during the early years of 1863–1865. When Stanford was Governor of California, the Legislature passed on April 22, 1863, "An Act to Authorize

6699-433: The railroads both shared in the increased value of the land grants, which the railroads developed. The construction of the railroad also secured for the government the economical "safe and speedy transportation of the mails, troops, munitions of war, and public stores". In the fall of 1860, Charles Marsh , a surveyor, civil engineer and water company owner, met with Theodore Judah , a civil engineer, who had recently built

6786-632: The resources invested going to waste. The case of Paxton v. Virata et al. , wherein a forgery of a title led to the establishment of the Viva Homes Estate residential subdivision in Dasmariñas , Cavite , in the Philippines , has turned an entire gated community an informal settlement , making residents who have invested decades into null and void titles worried about demolition . In United States law , evidence of title

6873-443: The same person(s). The extinguishing of ancient, forgotten, or unasserted claims, such as E's in the example above, was the original purpose of statutes of limitations . Otherwise, title to property would always be uncertain. At common law , equitable title is the right to obtain full ownership of property , where another maintains legal title to the property. In the United States, legal titles are those that were recognized by

6960-748: The same, they were also given room and board. In time, CPRR came to see the advantage of good workers employed at low wages: "Chinese labor proved to be Central Pacific's salvation." The difficulties faced by the Central Pacific in the Sierra Nevada – particularly the extensive tunneling required – were far more formidable than those encountered by the Union Pacific Railroad in the Rocky Mountains. The story that Chinese workers were suspended in wicker baskets over vertical granite cliffs at Cape Horn, California, to drill and blast

7047-432: The settlers received the benefit of a section of public opinion, politically and legally every decision was going the way of the railroad. In March 1880, Stanford himself attempted a reconciliation by appearing in Hanford and meeting with the Settler's League in an attempt to find some sort of compromise, but this fell through as the settlers had demanded a 50% reduction in prices, which the SP refused to do. On May 11, 1880,

7134-510: The time came from many manufacturers, such as Cooke , Schenectady , Mason, Rogers, Danforth, Norris, Booth, and McKay & Aldus, among others. The railroad had been on rather unfriendly terms with the Baldwin Locomotive Works , one of the more well-known firms. It is not clear as to the cause of this dispute, though some attribute it to the builder insisting on cash payment (though this has yet to be verified). Consequently,

7221-541: Was a founding director of that company). They measured elevations and distances, and discussed the possibility of a transcontinental railroad. Both were convinced that it could be done. In December 1860 or early January 1861, Marsh met with Judah and Daniel Strong in Strong's drug store in Dutch Flat, California , to discuss the project, which they called the Central Pacific Railroad of California. James Bailey,

7308-435: Was seen as a betrayal of Stanford's visit a mere two months earlier. The parties met at the homestead of Henry D. Brewer three miles (4.8 km) north of Grangeville (which is near Hanford), the marshal's group having just been at Braden's house. Later testimony from uninvolved parties indicated that the party of settlers were lightly armed and had every intention of persuading the railroad party to delay their actions until

7395-402: Was seized upon by newspaper editors as well as a number of popular writers soon after the tragic shootout, as an example of corporate greed and the abuses of freewheeling market capitalism around the start of the 20th century. Muckraking novels such as W. C. Morrow 's Blood-Money (1882) and Charles Cyril Post 's Driven from Sea to Sea; or, Just A' Campin ' (1884) exaggerate the fault of

7482-652: Was the most vital source for constructing the railroad. Most of the railroad workers in the west were Chinese, as they could be hired at a lower cost to do the difficult work. Fifty Cantonese emigrant workers were hired by the Central Pacific Railroad in February 1865 on a trial basis, and soon more and more Cantonese emigrants were hired. Working conditions were harsh, and Chinese were compensated less than their white counterparts, leading to far less white workers being hired. Chinese laborers were paid thirty-one dollars each month ($ 1,051 in 2023), and while white workers were paid

7569-536: Was treasurer and Crocker was in charge of construction. They called themselves "The Associates," but became known as " The Big Four ." Construction began in 1863 when the first rails were laid in Sacramento. Construction proceeded in earnest in 1865 when James Harvey Strobridge, the head of the construction work force, hired the first Cantonese emigrant workers at Crocker's suggestion. The construction crew grew to include 12,000 Chinese laborers by 1868, when they breached Donner summit and constituted eighty percent of

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