The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1911-12-22
REELFooI LAKE. AXE. .ss.l5E 81 lEF F.
Now Being Heard Before Chan
cellor Mckinney at Union City.

Now Being Heard Before Chan
cellor Mckinney at Union City.
Another lawsuit growing out Of the
recent Nightrider depredations in the
Reelfoot section is being tried at Union
City. The hearing will have none Of
the long drawn out phases Of the Grim
inaI cases which were tried here two
years ago. 1t will last only few days.
But it will be the first lap Of a long
legal journey, which may carry the ques-
ton Of the lakes ownership to the high
est courts
The style Of the case for trial before
Chancellor Mckinney is the State OF
Tennessee against the West Tennessee
Land Company and others. 1t involves
the ownership of Reelfoot Lake. The
State seeks to have all grants and pri-
yate claims upon it declared void, the
purpose in view being to have the lake
set aside as pulic fishing and hunting
preserve.
The suit was filed upon the relation of
the Attorney-General of the State and
the District Attorney-General under the
authority Of an act of the Legislature of
1909. This Legislature enacted two
statutes-one to declare the grants set
up by private claimants void and the
other to condemn all private rights or
interests that were found to exist. In
contemplation of restoring the lake as a
public preserve the Legislature also pro-
vided regulations for its control.
The issue is whether the West Ten
nessee Land Company has clear title
to the property which it will be neces-
sary to condemn or whether the lake is
already the property of the State. The
land company is the owner practically
all the outstanding grants.
VARIOUS TITLES TO PROPERTY.
Recent Investigations, which have been
made by attorneys and others interested
in the case, have brought some inter
esting facts to light. 1t has been found
that the earliest grants to the property
we're made to George Doherty by the
State OF North Carolina in 1888. These
grants included only abont A COO acres
OF the land now covered by the lake, and
these are the only grants outstanding
which were laid upon the land before it
was submerged.
All the other grants to the land were
procured from the State of Tennessee in
more recent years, with an evident view
to acquiring ownership of the lake. In
1858 batch Of grants were obtained by
w. H. Caldwell. These grants covered
nearly all the lake In 1875 Galloway
& Bennett procured some grants, which
are reported to have accurately and fully
taken in the waters OF the lake.
According to history, the lake was
created by the earthquakes of 1911 and
1912. After this time George Doherty
seems to have treated his lands as lost
and abandoned them SO far as any direct
control was concerned. Repeated efforts
to control the fishing and hunting privi-
leges and secure the timber rights we're
made under the Caldwell ownership and
later under the Galloway & Bennett
grants, but these efforts were varying in
their success.
1t remained for the late j. @. Harris,
OF Tiptonville, whose purpose was to
drain the lake and reclaim the land, to
inaugurate his scheme Of buying all the
outstanding grants. He bought all the
grants except those of Galloway d Ben
nett. Then the Harris interests we're
combined with these and the West Ten
nessee Land Company was formed. This
company began the first effective control |