Yellow Fever on Galveston Island

Jan Johnson

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2022
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439675427
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Jan Johnson provides a definitive account of Galveston's fight against outbreaks of Yellow Fever, which transformed an island paradise into the City of Dreadful Death.

In the summer of Galveston's founding year, a mysterious malady accompanied by black vomit descended upon the inhabitants. Names for the devastating plague came quick and fast as the body count rose. Saffron Scourge. Bronze John. Yellow Jack. Yellow Fever. The disease's cause and cure remained elusive, as did the medical institutions Galveston would need treat the illness. Four thousand souls perished in nine epidemics between 1839 and 1867. By the time of Galveston's final Yellow Fever outbreak in 1903, however, residents were better informed and equipped. Discover the key figures and pivotal events of the island city's experience with the mosquito-borne disease.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface and Perseverance
• Introduction
• Part I. The Founding Fathers and Development of the City
• Part II. Aspects of Yellow Fever
• Part III. Eight Epidemics, 1844–1882
• Part IV. Establishment of Medical Institutions on the Island
• Part V. A Hospital for the Largest City in Texas
• Part VI. Drs. Smith v. Dowell…and Reed
• Part VII. Development of Galveston’s City Water System, 1882
• Part VIII. Unfortunate Necessity of Orphanages
• Epilogue. The Final Yellow Fever Epidemic
• Notes
• Bibliography
• About the Author