The Great Moss Panic of 1878
Seattle's early city council once declared war on rooftop greenery to prevent the city from burning down.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Ordinance No. 146: The City of Seattle does ordain as follows: Section 1. That in all that portion of the City of Seattle south of Columbia Street and west of Fourth Street, in both Maynard’s and Boren’s Plat, the roofs of all buildings or structures of every kind shall be kept free and clear of moss or other inflammable substances or material. Section 2. That within ten days from the time this Ordinance shall go into effect, the owners of all buildings or structures within that portion of the City of Seattle described in Section one of this Ordinance, shall remove from the roofs of such buildings or structures all moss or other inflammable substance or material, and shall thereafter keep such roofs free and clear from such accumulations. Section 3. That it shall be the duty of the Fire Warden of said City to inspect the roofs of all buildings or structures within the limits described in Section one of this Ordinance. Section 4. That said Fire Warden shall notify the owner or occupant of any building or structure upon the roof of which any moss or other inflammable substance or material shall have accumulated, forthwith to remove the same, and if the owner or occupant shall not remove the same within forty-eight hours after such notification, then said Fire Warden shall cause the same to be removed, and the expenses thereof shall be chargeable to the owner or occupant of such building or structure. Section 5. That the owner or occupant of any building or structure who shall, after such notification, fail to remove such moss or other inflammable substance or material from such roof or roofs within forty-eight hours after such notification, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding fifty dollars.
“The roofs of all buildings or structures of every kind shall be kept free and clear of moss or other inflammable substances.”
Long before the modern era of intense urban fire code regulation, Seattle was essentially a collection of wooden structures fighting a constant battle against the damp climate—a climate that encouraged moss to grow on every surface. This 1878 ordinance highlights the precarious nature of early pioneer infrastructure, where the city council had to legislate against nature itself to prevent a catastrophic fire in the downtown core.
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