Abstract of Title for land once owned by Harvey and Emeline Clarke

Title

Description

An abstract of title describing the chain of ownership for a parcel of land in Forest Grove, Oregon. The earliest owners named in the abstract are Harvey and Emeline Clarke, two of the earliest Euro-American settlers of Forest Grove. The parcel described in this abstract on a block on the southwest side of downtown, at what is now 1918 A. St. The abstract compiles details from the title history of the land parcel, providing evidence about who owned the land over time. The first recorded owners were Harvey and Emeline Clarke, who had a Donation Land Claim. The Clarkes sold a portion of their claim for $1 to Tualatin Academy, probably intending it to be part of the land endowment of the school. The heirs of the Clarkes then provided a quit-claim deed to Tualatin Academy / Pacific University, which confirmed the donation. In 1873, the Pacific University President and other families connected to the University donated the block of land containing this address "to public use and benefit," apparently in order to provide land for the development of the town of Forest Grove. Following the chain of ownership statement, there is a description of the overall boundaries of the original Clarke claim. The abstract ends with a covenant pertaining to some of the Clarkes' land, which prohibited "ardent spirits" (i.e. hard liquor) and gambling on the premises. This abstract was probably created in the early 1900s, but texts excerpted within it date from 1851-1873.