A Mount Vernon Mill Folds
A cedar mill succumbs to the dual pressures of economic flooding and a string of creditor lawsuits.
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.
Bacon & Henderson, whose mill at Mount Vernon has been cutting cedar for lumber, made an assignment today for the benefit of their creditors. The firm's liabilities are about $50,000 and their assets are about $35,000. Losses by the flood last fall, car shortages, and stringency in the money market were cited as reasons. A few days ago, employees filed attachment suits for back pay, causing a 'run' of creditors. Before sundown, suits aggregating $800 were filed. The mill site, covering 1,100 feet of water front, and the plant are worth $30,000. The mill will surely be started up again, but under a new management.
“A few days ago several of the men employed at the mill filed attachment suits for back pay. This caused a run of creditors.”
The economic vulnerability of resource-based industries in 1893 shows how quickly a local employer could collapse due to supply chain issues and credit tightening. The story of a mill caught between flood damage, employee back-pay demands, and creditor lawsuits feels familiar to anyone tracking Seattle's long history of boom-and-bust business cycles.
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