Panic, Pennsylvania

Panic is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. ^[1]

History

A post office was established at Panic in 1881, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1904. ^[2] The community most likely was named after the Panic of 1873. ^[3] A folk etymology maintains the name originated when a pioneer fought off a bear with an axe. ^[4] Panic has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The first church in McCalmont Township was built at Panic in 1871. ^[8] The township's first store was also established in Panic in 1882. ^[8] By 1917, Panic was described as a "tiny village". ^[9]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Panic, Pennsylvania
2. "Hall County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
3. Moyer, Armond; Moyer, Winifred (1958). The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. p. 98.
4. Moore, Dinty W. (January 1, 2008). Between Panic and Desire. U of Nebraska Press. p. 16. ISBN   0-8032-1768-4.
5. Birnbach, Lisa; Marx, Patricia; Hodgman, Ann (May 14, 2002). 1,003 Great Things About America . Andrews McMeel Publishing. p.  163. ISBN   978-0-7407-2949-2.
6. Ash, Russell (November 10, 2011). Boring, Botty and Spong. RHCP. p. 61. ISBN   978-1-4090-9739-6.
7. Petras, Kathryn; Petras, Ross (December 18, 2007). Unusually Stupid Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity. Random House Publishing Group. p. 246. ISBN   978-0-307-41761-9.
8. Scott, Kate M. (1888). History of Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, with Illus. and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. D. Mason. p. 665.
9. McKnight, William James (1917). Historical. J.H. Beers. p. 512.

41°02′10″N78°56′50″W / 41.03611°N 78.94722°W / 41.03611; -78.94722