Yates v. Milwaukee
Supreme Court of the United States
In the year 1856, Shepardson, who was the owner of a lot in Milwaukee fronting on the Menomonee and Milwaukee Rivers in the said city, and who had begun to build a wharf at the junction of those rivers, conveyed the interest that he had in the wharf and in the front of the lot to the centre of the Milwaukee River, to one Yates, with tlie right and privilege of docking, dredging out, and making a water front on the Milwaukee River.
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In the year 1856, Shepardson, who was the owner of a lot in Milwaukee fronting on the Menomonee and Milwaukee Rivers in the said city, and who had begun to build a wharf at the junction of those rivers, conveyed the interest that he had in the wharf and in the front of the lot to the centre of the Milwaukee River, to one Yates, with tlie right and privilege of docking, dredging out, and making a water front on the Milwaukee River. Between the margin of the water, which for the purposes of this case may be assumed to be the eastern boundary of Shepardson’s lot, and- the navigable channel of…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Miller
The defendants, in support of their right to remove the wharf, seem to rely — 1st, upon the want of title in the plaintiff to the locus in quo; and 2d, upon the absolute power of the city of Milwaukee, as the repository of the public authority on th'e subject of wharves, piers, and other matters affecting the navigation of the river within the city limits, to determine the character and location of such structures.
As to the first of these propositions, it does not seem to be necessary to decide whether the title of the lot extends to the thread of the channel of the river, though if the soil…
2Cited by300 opinions
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- Illinois Central Railroad v. IllinoisSupreme Court of the United States · 1892
- Spann v. City of DallasTexas Supreme Court · 1921
- Scranton v. WheelerSupreme Court of the United States · 1900
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