The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-04-30
OLD DISPUTE OVER TITLE.
The DreSher, YOst, Wagner and Dill
man Claims Recalled.
POSSESSION DOESN'T STOP RAZING.
Men Employed by the Girard Estate Pulled
Down House on the Disputed Land
Yesterday, But the Claimant Re-
built it within six Hours.

There was lightning house building on
Locust Mountain yesterday to replace house
that had been torn down by gang of men
in the employ of the Girard Estate. The
scene Of operations was near the place known
as the halfway house and the activity was
one of the results of dispute over title to
the land. The building torn down was a
small possession house two stories high which
was formerly occupied by Ernest Hood The
men who did the razing had hardly left the
place when another gang of men started
work and within six hours the building was
re-erected and occupied by John Klock and
family who claims to hold possession against
the Girard Estate.
The facts of the case are so complicated
that it would take half a dozen Philadelphia
lawyers to state them with satisfactory clear
ness, but it appears that the dispute had been
going on for about twenty years. 1t is
stated that about % years ago b. X Yost, de-
ceased, father of B. j. and 5. W. Yost. of
town, Isaac Wagner and Samuel Drcsher
bought the land in dispute from one Daniel
Zimmerman and a man named liouser This
land is claimed to be parts of the Gamgus
and Burke tracts and is located ON what is
known as the fiat, short distance north
of this town. Yost, Wagner and Dresher
took immediate possession and built house
on the tract, but a few days after it was
destroyed by fire. The Girard Estate people
then erected a house, and that was destroyed
! by fire, and then Yost, Wagner and Dresher
rebuilt their house and put one John Case in
possession. second house was built, and
John Precious by the three claimants has
held continuous possession for about 20 years.
Some years after Case moved out and Ernest
Hood became possession holder. He re-
mained there for several years when, it is
claimed, the Girard Estate people succeeded
in getting him to sign a document in which
he set forth that he was the tenant of the
Estate. Shortly after the Girard Estate
officials gave Hood notice to quit, and he was
subsequently evicted. 1t also appears that
B. X. Yost years ago sold one-third of his
portion of the estate to one James Dillman,
now deceased, and it is the husband of his
widow, John Klock, who rebuilt the house
with such rapidity after it was torn down by
the Girard Estate men yesterday
The real point at issue appears to hinge on
the question of survey and location. The
Girard Estate people do not deny that
Dresher and the Yost, Wagner and Dillman
heirs own land on Locust Mountain, but
claim that the land they own is on the slid
ing scale in other words is ON that part of
the mountain that runs down into the
Catawissa Valley. The claimants say this is
a bluff and the land ON the flat belongs to
them; that the land the Gmrd Estate CON
cedes to them is practically worthless. They
also claim that the case has been in court
several times and each time they have been
victorious, but there is something in the law
that won't allow definite settlement of the
| litigation. Meanwhile the Girard Estate
men pull down houses whenever they chance
to get in that neighborhood and the claim
ants rebuild them with commendable
alacrity.