A Week After the Goods Arrived, the Doors Closed
S. Blumauer & Son of Ellensburg collapses with liabilities above $72,000, forcing a fresh $30,000 stock onto a jittery local market.
The liabilities of S. Blumauer & Son, of Ellensburgh, whose recent failure was such a surprise, amounted to upwards of $72,000. Thirty thousand dollars' worth of goods had been received not more than a week before the firm closed its doors. The forcing of this big stock of goods upon the market presents a gloomy outlook to the Ellensburgh merchants.
“The forcing of this big stock of goods upon the market presents a gloomy outlook to the Ellensburgh merchants.”
Retail collapses still ripple through small-city economies, leaving empty storefronts and a sudden glut of goods. The 1892 Ellensburg failure shows how fast confidence could turn to panic in a railroad-era boomtown.
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