Posted on 06/01/2002 5:17:47 AM PDT by krodriguesdc
Alabama Family Recovers Land Taken by State Decades Ago
By Bill Poovey Associated Press Writer Published: Jun 1, 2002
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A black family whose land was seized by the state under a 1964 court order can return to the farm as its "rightful owners," Gov. Don Siegelman said. Siegelman transferred ownership of the land to the family Friday, saying it had been taken "by a legal technicality." The family had said for nearly 40 years that the land was rightfully theirs.
"It is a great moment for the family but equally it is a great moment for the state of Alabama," state Sen. Hank Sanders said Friday.
Siegelman reviewed the land-taking claim by Willie Williams of Sweet Water after it was detailed in an Associated Press story. In December, an AP series documented the loss of 24,000 acres by black Americans, through violence, trickery and legal maneuvers. The series, "Torn From the Land," uncovered 107 land takings during an 18-month investigation.
"Thank you for bringing this matter to the public's attention," Siegelman said while signing what he described as an unprecedented land grant by an Alabama governor.
The Williams family lost the western Alabama land after the state claimed the property belonged to the government because of a 1906 federal designation as swampland.
Williams was not immediately available for comment Friday.
The property is now vacant and overgrown. Some of it has been opened to timber cutters, state records show.
The AP reported that the family held an 1874 deed and had records to show they had been paying taxes on the land for generations. Records show that a judge in 1965 said allowing the state's claim would create a "severe injustice," but nonetheless signed an order giving the property to the state.
Williams' great-grandfather, named George Washington, bought 240 acres in 1874. The purchase and his conveyance of the land to his children in 1900 are documented in well-preserved, handwritten courthouse records.
State officials secured "quiet title" to the 40 acres Williams' father inherited, based on a 1963 U.S. Bureau of Land Management notice. That notice said a 1906 federal patent classified the Washington property as swampland owned by the state.
Then-Circuit Judge Emmett F. Hildreth wrote in a Dec. 13, 1965, letter to state conservation officials that evidence showed the families had "been in possession of these lands about three generations. The effect of a decree favorable to the state of Alabama would be to dispossess these people and deprive them of these lands. Such action would create a severe injustice."
Letters and internal memos on the case in files of the State Lands Division in Montgomery are peppered with references to the family's race. They show officials adamantly opposed allowing "the negro defendants" to keep the land, even while acknowledging that the family could trace its ownership back to 1874.
In 1967, Hildreth, who is now dead, signed a decree awarding ownership to the state, but allowing Williams' father, Lemon Williams, and his wife to remain on the property as long as they lived.
Willie Williams, 51, said that up to his death in 1983, his father was still pleading for the family not to give up trying to reclaim ownership of the land, where they grew beans and cotton.
Siegelman said that "when George Washington bought this property he did everything a reasonable person would have done, got a title and paid his taxes."
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On the Net:
The AP series can be found at: http://wire.ap.org
Alabama Legislature: House Joint Resolution 54 at http://www.legislature.state.al.us
AP-ES-06-01-02 0529EDT
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This is a basic property rights issue in my opinion. One small victory in the battle of property owners vs. the oppressive federal government's land grabbing tactics, IMO. We need tens of THOUSANDS of more cases like this!
The government should do more than that. It should pay these people for the profits they could have earned from the use of the land plus 40+ years of interest.
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Well stated. Note, however, that Lemon Williams retained possesion of the land until his death in 1983. His son says that he continued to grow beans and cotton until then. Not an exculpation of federal and state crimes, but it has bearing on damages perhaps owed.
mh; I've always blamed these damn cracker southern governments for putting us in the position we are today concerning our rights of free association. If they had protected all of their citizens back then, the feds never would have been able to step in.
Is forever long enough for you?
Hmmm. Maybe it's because Jesse would rather have another Budweiser distributorship than a couple of acres of farm land in Alabama ... ?
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