The Yosemite Valley Case
United States Supreme Court
82 U.S. 77 (1872)
On May 19, 1864, about six weeks before Congress passed the act granting the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California, Hutchings (defendant) entered the unsurveyed valley and settled on land there, intending, as he later declared, to acquire title under the federal preemption laws. He had purchased a house, outbuildings, and a fenced enclosure from a prior occupant, and continuously resided on and improved the property afterward. At the time of his settlement, Hutchings possessed all the qualifications the preemption laws required of a settler, but because the valley remained unsurveyed, he had never been able to complete the further steps preemption required, including paying for the land. After Congress granted the valley to California to be held as a public trust, state-appointed commissioners (plaintiffs) sought to recover possession of the premises from Hutchings.
Whether, under the preemption laws for settling on public land, settlers must occupy, improve the land, and complete the purchase of the land to obtain a vested interest in the land against the United States.