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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
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| 1876 | 17 |
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| 1878 | 11 |
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236 stories matching panic
- Copper World Extension Puts Hopes on a Smelter Test
After years of inactivity and economic hardship, local miners attempt to prove the viability of a massive, long-neglected ore deposit.
- Great Northern Railroad Official Injured in Runaway Carriage
Maj. A. M. Anderson, a right-of-way agent for the Great Northern, suffers a broken collarbone after his team takes fright at a railroad crossing.
- Smallpox Fears Disrupt Trains and Border Crossings
As smallpox cases spiked in British Columbia, Seattleites feared the contagion was crossing the border via Indian canoes and passenger trains.
- Regional Moral Panics Over 'Indecent' Papers
Tacoma and Olympia officials move to ban the sale of the Seattle Mercury and the Spokane Sunday Sun, labeling them 'obscene literature' and threatening vendors with prison time.
- Seattle Schools Slash Budgets Amid Financial Panic
Facing high fuel costs and the economic strain of 1893, the school board cuts teacher salaries for sick leave and consolidates classes.
- The Great Detective Panic of North Yakima
When word reached town that a Chicago detective had arrived by stagecoach, dozens of the city’s leading men fled into the freezing wilderness, resulting in frozen limbs, broken bones, and a ruined reputation.
- The Racialized Panic Over Real Estate
A reprint from the San Francisco Chronicle warns Seattle property owners against renting to the Chinese, using inflammatory rhetoric about declining property values.
- Seattle's Sugar Panic of 1888
A rapid-fire series of local price hikes turned sugar buying in Seattle into a high-stakes, volatile gamble that rivaled the dangers of the stock market.
- The Plague Panic at the Border
As smallpox cases surge in British Columbia, Seattle and surrounding towns scramble to implement strict quarantine measures and mandatory vaccinations to keep the disease at bay.
- A Night in the Ideal Saloon
When a woman in a Washington Street brothel suffered an overdose of morphine, the man who brought it to her fled in panic to the courts—only to be arrested himself.
- A Runaway Team Causes Panic on Front Street
A teamster's attempt to stop his runaway horses results in a dangerous, public struggle near the Occidental Hotel.
- A Disturbance in Chinatown
A man brandishing a revolver on Washington Street is subdued by police after causing a panic among his neighbors.
- The Great White Bluffs Dog Panic of 1907
A stray cur triggered a frantic scramble for safety, sending townspeople up ridge poles and onto the riverboats.
- The Rabies Panic Hits Benton County
A state-mandated quarantine orders every dog in ten counties to be muzzled or destroyed on sight to stop a spreading epidemic.
- The Hop-Picker's Smallpox Scare
A panic at the Meeker ranch over a supposed smallpox outbreak threatened to upend the harvest—but the sickness was not what it seemed.
- A Violent Attack at the Altar
A clergyman is assaulted by an intruder while officiating mass, leading to a swift local trial.
- The Brown Paper Ball of 1894
When the Panic of 1893 hit Tacoma, the St. Elizabeth Guild defied the mood with a tongue-in-cheek 'Hard Times' dance featuring invitations and programs printed on brown paper.
- Great Northern Celebration Halted by Financial Panic
James J. Hill postpones the grand celebration of the Great Northern railway’s completion as financial instability grips the nation.
- James Hamilton Lewis Calms the Populist Unrest
A fiery political rally in Seattle turns into a calm plea for city loyalty during the Panic of 1893.
- Fraternal Orders Thrive Despite Economic Gloom
While the Panic of 1893 batters the economy, Seattle's secret societies are recording explosive membership growth.
- The Senatorial Bomb Threat at the State House
A local man causes a panic in the Olympia senate gallery while screaming threats of violence over a U.S. Senate election.
- The Fiery Wreck of the Enterprise
When the steamer Enterprise collided and burned on the Sound, panic ensued as passengers faced a desperate struggle for life, revealing the stark racial tensions of the era's emergency protocols.
- The Great Hops Hoax: Tacoma’s ‘Massive’ Landslide Turns Out to Be a Trifle
Panic swept the Sound when reports claimed a catastrophic slide at Tacoma had buried buildings and halted rail traffic. The Dispatch reveals the truth: only twenty acres of land moved, knocking over a few Chinese cabins, while the real drama was just steamers running late.
- The Smallpox Panic: A Quarantined Ship and a City on Edge
When the steamer *Dakota* arrived in Port Gamble with an infected crew member, the community locked down in fear. But as the dust settled, a more insidious threat emerged from within Seattle's own political ranks.
- Smallpox Scare at Port Townsend
Rumors of a smallpox outbreak on Puget Sound trigger public panic, but health officials scramble to reassure the community.