Caxton Press Panic of 1893: Washingtons First Great Depression

In 1893 Washington, a new state with new people, plunged into the last economic depression of the 19th century. Banks failed. Sawmills closed. Money became so scarce that in Bellingham and Port Angeles, people made their own. Jobless men sawed wood, picked blackberries and dug clams. In Spokane, the town's richest man was wiped out, and from Tacoma and Seattle protesters set off for Washington, D.C. seeking help, on foot and by stealing rides on trains. In The Panic of 1893, former Seattle newspaper reporter, editor and columnist Bruce Ramsey tells the story of how people survived and how their state was changed forever.