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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 4 |
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| 1886 | 5 |
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| 1888 | 10 |
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| 1908 | 5 |
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236 stories matching panic
- A Ghastly Scene on Third Street
A terrified runaway delivery horse caused panic and gore on a busy downtown street, ending in a public mercy killing.
- The City’s Panic Over a Smallpox Outbreak
When an infectious disease arrived on the Seattle waterfront in 1876, the City Council and local editors turned to extreme rhetoric, calling for the forced removal of the city's vulnerable populations.
- The Neighborhood Siege on Commercial Street
A century and a half ago, a massive petition of Seattle residents demanded the city ‘cleanse’ a house of ‘contagious pollution,’ setting a precedent for civic moral panics.
- The Midnight Chicken Thief Shootout
A marine engineer's late-night attempt to protect his coop creates a neighborhood-wide panic in North Seattle.
- Courtroom Chaos After Secret Marriage Ends in Gunfire
A mother's desperate attempt to retrieve her teenage daughter from a clandestine marriage leads to a dramatic shooting in the heart of Seattle's legal district.
- The Miracle Pill That Saved a Patient
A desperate physician recounts how, after failing to save a dying patient, he turned to 'sugar pills' in a moment of pure professional panic.
- The Ghost Rumors of Indian Conflict
Territorial officials mobilize as panic spreads across Puget Sound following unsubstantiated reports of violence.
- Racist Exclusion and the Main Street Real Estate Panic
Local property owners react with outrage as landlords lease buildings to Chinese residents, illustrating the exclusionary climate of 1880s Seattle.
- Signs of Life in the Seattle Economy
Bank clearance data from February 1894 shows a gradual recovery from the economic panic of the previous summer.
- The Cougars of Spangle
Predators roam the countryside, prompting fears for the safety of children and local livestock.
- The Great Seattle Retail Fire Sale of 1885
Toklas, Singerman & Co. issues a city-wide 'panic' announcement to clear out summer stock to make room for fall shipments.
- The Struggle for Labor's Voice in Olympia
A scathing critique of Washington's 1909 legislative session, highlighting failures in labor protection and the growing influence of corporate lobbyists.
- The City Hall Bond Crisis of 1893
Facing a financial panic, Seattle's mayor proposes an experimental fix to keep public works moving and labor employed.
- The False Alarm That Almost Set Seattle Afire
When an unfounded panic about an anti-Chinese uprising brought the Governor and the state militia to Seattle, a tense city collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
- The Annual Hop Picker Scare
For twenty years, growers have panicked over the threat of a labor shortage, but one editor suggests that the 'scare' is more about business than biology.
- The Great Austrian Hunt: A Sunday Afternoon Panic in Kennewick
When rumors spread that a Mexican revolutionary was hoisting the Huerta flag on Second Street, Chief of Police Cope and his deputies launched a dramatic chase. The 'insurgent' turned out to be an innocent Austrian worker looking for directions.
- The Floor Gives Way: Panic and Death at Seattle’s Morris Opera House
A grand opening night turns into a nightmare when the second-story floor of the newly converted theater collapses into the stables below, killing several and injuring dozens in one of the city's earliest major disasters.
- The Price of Panic: Foreclosures in 1878 Seattle
A wave of Sheriff’s sales, spurred by defaulted debt and legal judgments, reveals the precarious financial reality of Seattle property owners during the late 1870s.
- The Smallpox Panic of 1876
Busy-bodies spread false rumors of a smallpox outbreak in Seattle, prompting a swift rebuttal from the local physician.
- The Saloon-Bonding Controversy in Mount Vernon
A local moral panic over a proposed saloon location threatens to derail a crucial municipal bond election.
- The Price of Panic: Seattle's 1878 Foreclosure Wave
A legal notice detailing the seizure of property in Seattle and King County reveals a landscape defined by debt, land disputes, and the brutal finality of the Sheriff’s gavel.
- The Courtroom Scream
A witness in a railroad injury trial lets out a blood-curdling set of shrieks from a locked room, sending the entire Federal Court into a panic.
- Why the Cascade Mountains Have a 'Stampede'
A swarm of mosquitoes once sent railroad engineers fleeing in a panic that gave a famous mountain pass its permanent name.
- The Ghost of the Anti-Chinese Riots
A mysterious agitator claims the soldiers have arrived to protect Seattle's Chinese population, triggering panic and confusion on the docks.
- The Seattle Panic of 1888
A grand jury report warns of a secret 'International Workmen’s Association' conspiracy to seize Seattle's property and industry.