The Rise And DecVme Of The Ol})mpia Oyster 



ance to the Olympia Oyster growers, and one which had 

 been a major part of the program of the Association for 

 some time. 



Mention has been made that the majority of titles to 

 Olympia Oyster land were issued under the "Callow 

 Act", passed in 1891. This law permitted the applicant to 

 select and buy the part he desired. Naturally the best 

 natural oyster ground, and the boundaries were general- 

 ly irregular. In many instances there were irregular 

 tracts between the oyster land selected and the beach or 

 meander-line. There were, also, irregular and isolated 

 tracts between different growers. As the system of level- 

 ing and diking had developed, these tracts, the title to 

 which remained in the State, becam.e very important in 

 the development of their beds. They needed the beach 

 gravel for filling, and the land back to the meander line, 

 which generally follows the line of mean high tide, for 

 access to their oyster beds. Also, the isolated and irregu- 

 lar tracts, if owned, could be graded or filled and enable 

 the adjoining dikes to be straightened out and made 

 easier to operate. After a long period of effort on the part 

 of the committee of the Association, the legislature had, 

 in 1915, passed a law permitting the oystermen to pur- 

 chase these isolated tracts. The procedure to be followed 

 out by filing of maps and abstract of title with their ap- 

 plication, so that the rights of adjoining owners would be 

 protected, was provided for in the law. This meeting, 

 through the leadership of Mark Reed, was to aid and 

 assist the oyster growers in filing their applications to 

 purchase and buy adjoining isolated tracts. This meeting 



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