United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railway Co.
United States Supreme Court
160 U.S. 668 (1896)
Relevant factsFree
The United States (plaintiff) sought to condemn land owned by the Gettysburg Electric Railway Company (defendant) in order to expand the Gettysburg National Military Park, as part of a broader nineteenth-century trend of the federal government retaining public lands for national purposes. The federal circuit court ruled in favor of the railroad, and the Supreme Court granted a writ of error.
IssueFree
Whether the federal government may condemn land and hold it in federal ownership to serve the public use of historic preservation.