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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 6 |
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| 1895 | 34 |
| 1897 | 1 |
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469 stories matching spread
- The Doctors Declare War: Seattle's Health Board Orders the Schools Shut as Scarlet Fever Spreads
Backed by a city attorney's opinion, the board of health gives the school board an ultimatum — close the Rainier and South schools by nine o'clock Friday morning or the police will do it for them.
- The Fatal Dance of Washington's Ground Squirrels
Scientists at the state agricultural college tried to wipe out crop-destroying rodents with bacteria—and found a native plague that sent infected squirrels spinning until they dropped.
- The Plague at the Doorstep: Seattle’s Battle Against Smallpox in 1877
As smallpox ravages Port Orchard and Salmon Bay, the city's Health Officer takes drastic quarantine measures against Indigenous communities, highlighting the fragile public health infrastructure of early Seattle.
- The Invisible Killer in Your Milk: Seattle’s Health Officer Warns of Tuberculosis Cows
With consumption rates soaring and no dedicated veterinary inspector on staff, local officials admit the city is dangerously unprepared to stop diseased cattle from entering the food supply.
- The Horse That Stopped a City: How an Epidemic Ground Seattle to a Halt
In October 1872, a mysterious disease swept through the Pacific Northwest, paralyzing streetcars and commerce. As merchants turned to oxen and hand carts, the Territory of Washington faced its first major public health crisis.
- Two Newport Homes Burn as Volunteers Fight Without Enough Hose
A lightning-sparked fire destroyed the Seeley house and spread to the Montzheimer home, exposing the town’s thin fire protection.
- Strawberry Industry at a Crossroads
Local inspectors warn that an invasive root weevil threatens to wipe out Kennewick’s strawberry patches unless growers act immediately.
- Fifty Cases of Scarlet Fever and One Health Officer
As scarlet fever spreads through Seattle, an editorial defends the city health board against parents resisting school closures.
- Mange Outbreak Hits Spanaway
A dangerous animal disease threatens the local economy, as officials scramble to isolate horses and dogs to prevent further contagion.
- A $60,000 Fire Devastates Valley: Livery Stable Blaze Spreads Through Town
A wind-whipped fire that began in a livery stable destroyed a general store, a saloon, and a residence, leaving insurance far short of losses.
- Waterfront Mattress Factory Destroyed by Fire
A late-night blaze gutted the George S. Lenders Bedding Company plant, causing $6,000 in damages.
- Scarlet Fever Sets Seattle's School Board Against Its Health Board
With scarlet fever alarming physicians, the board of health claims power to close the public schools—and the school board is not convinced the charter gives it that right.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Waterfront
As the anti-Chinese movement spreads through the Pacific Northwest, agitators in Seattle and Tacoma organize a campaign of expulsion, claiming the city's prosperity is at risk.
- Inferno at the Spokane Falls
Four mills destroyed and workers missing after a massive industrial fire consumes the riverfront.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- Nineteen Buildings Gone Before Breakfast
With no fire department and only buckets, the Kitsap County seat of Sidney watched its entire business district burn to the ground in three hours — then promised to rebuild as Seattle had.
- The Day Smallpox Walked the Streets: How One Man’s Ignorance Sparked Spokane’s Deadliest Epidemic
A drunk man wandering through downtown Spokane with a rash on his face nearly triggered a disaster that killed hundreds—until a sharp-eyed pharmacist stepped in.
- Rabid Coyotes Put the Whole Columbia Valley on Edge
State College confirmed hydrophobia in a hog’s head from a Richland-area ranch, prompting dog quarantines and warnings that unusually bold coyotes could spread the disease through the valley.
- The Night Steilacoom's Records Burned
A Tuesday-night blaze destroyed the county auditor's office, forced the demolition of a neighboring building, and nearly took Anthony's Hotel—until soldiers joined the bucket brigade.
- Tragedy on the Tracks: A Night of Horror
A train derailment near Seattle leaves passengers trapped in the wreckage as a fire begins to spread through the cars.
- The Town Bucket Brigade
When a major mill fire broke out in Montesano, the local water system failed, forcing the townspeople—including the women—to form a desperate bucket line to save the surrounding buildings.
- Diphtheria Shuts Newport’s Schools and Churches
City health officer orders classrooms, congregations and public gatherings closed as ten homes are quarantined; a teacher is among the sick.
- Scarlet Fever, Schools, and a Turf War Between Two Boards
Seattle's health and school boards take their quarrel over scarlet fever quarantine and school closures to the civil courts, while five new cases are reported.
- The Scandal That Nearly Ruined the Colonel
A prominent Seattle businessman finds himself the center of a moral firestorm when rumors spread that he was ‘squeezing’ the factory girls—but the truth was far more mundane.
- Suspicious Deaths Aboard the Princess Louise
Health officials examine the bodies of three Chinese men found dead on a steamer arriving from Victoria.
Also about this, in other words
- The Letter that Carried Fever
A tragic medical mystery unfolds as a mother's joyful news becomes a vector for disease across the Pacific Northwest.
- Mange Epidemic Sweeps Spanaway Prairies
An infectious skin disease among local horses causes concern for farmers and county commissioners.
- A City Divided Over Disease
As scarlet fever spreads through Seattle, the Board of Health and the House of Delegates clash over funding for an inspector, leaving the city vulnerable.
- The Unlikely Remedy for the Smallpox Outbreak
When a Seattle-area family faced a smallpox contagion in the winter, they bypassed medical uncertainty for an old household mixture—and claimed a miraculous recovery.
- The Politics of Public Health
As the city grows, Dr. Lueders argues that the municipal health officer's role must evolve beyond basic contagion management to include systemic urban sanitation.
- The War on Orchard Mildew
District Horticultural Inspector Luke Powell issues a dire warning to apple growers regarding the spread of powdery mildew.
- The 15-Cent Street Signs That Became a Graft Scandal
A councilman nicknamed 'Boss' hands out a street-sign contract on his own authority, and the town asks why it is buying throwaway tin markers instead of signs that last — at the people's expense.
- Planting the Seed in 'Germany'
A century-old account of missionaries in Japan and their long-term project to shift the cultural landscape of the East.