By Adam Leubbehusen
America in the late 1800s and early 1900s was a place for industry and technology. The industrial age was at full strength and the rise of transportation allowed Americans a new outlook on their country. Trains, ships, and automobiles allowed citizens increased mobility around their towns, states, and country. People, imports, exports, machines, inventions, technology, and goods and services were being transported around the country like never before. However, something else was along for the ride. Diseases, viruses, and illnesses would soon have the nation in a state of fear. Soldiers traveling home from the Spanish War in Cuba carried with them the Variola virus that they would pass on to those around them. This disease was relatively new to the United States and spread from state to state. By 1900, more than half of the states had encountered cases of the smallpox virus, including Indiana.
Smallpox is an infectious disease that can be identified by a red, bumpy rash that covers the skin of someone who is infected by the Variola virus. The arms, legs, chest, face, mouth and throat are the hardest hit areas for the characteristic rash and blisters of smallpox. Vaccines play the biggest role in preventing the contamination and spread of the virus. A needle containing the vaccine is injected into a person’s skin in order for the body to naturally fight it off and build up immunity to the virus. The smallpox vaccine used to be given out to every child from the time of its creation until the 1970s when universal vaccination was discontinued because the disease was eradicated. Victims of smallpox have also been quarantined in hopes of stopping the spread to those around the person. Although this disease has been declared eradicated by the World Health Organization since the 1970s, cases have been found to date all the way back to 10,000 BC. Throughout history, plagues of smallpox have troubled mankind. Large outbreaks have been discovered and recorded across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. One outbreak in particular had the United States asking for answers in the early 1900s.[1]
With the number of cases of smallpox growing throughout the country, many states went into vaccine overdrive. Various Departments of Health encouraged vaccinations for everyone surrounding the cities in which cases of smallpox were known. The Indiana Board of Health focused on awareness and prevention. Although the death rate of those infected with smallpox was only 30-35%, the Board thought it best to be over prepared. They fought for as many vaccines as they could get their hands on in order to prevent more cases in Indiana. They worked with hospitals and other organizations to promote vaccines. They cooperated with doctors, nurses, surgeons, and even priests and other religious officials to help encourage vaccines. Even today the Indiana State Department of Health focuses on increasing childhood immunizations of all kinds of diseases. This was one of their main goals in 2013, along with decreasing adult obesity, decreasing adult smoking, and reducing infant mortality. Immunizations and vaccines are still a top priority for states in the United States today.[2] Although they are not fighting smallpox outbreaks, the Department works hard to ensure a health Indiana for all of its residents.
Other key organizations in the fight against smallpox were the New York City Department of Health and the Chicago Board of Health. Both groups fought with everything they could - money, the latest technology and sciences, influence, education – to try and stop the spread of smallpox. The New York City Board got its start in the year 1805 to stop the spread of yellow fever in the United States. Although they had fought against the outbreak of yellow fever, smallpox was new for them. Yellow fever was a much more simple disease to fight during this time. Smallpox gave the New York City Board of Health a whole new challenge. This department had a great influence over the majority of the East coast. Many people looked to them to find the answers they were looking for about smallpox.[3] The Chicago Board of Health had a greater impact on the mid-western states, including Indiana. The Board had many encounters with Indiana towns and residents with regards to the spread out of Indiana and into Chicago by train, automobile, or person.
In July of 1902, the city of Chicago faced an impending threat from its Indiana neighboring city, Hammond, a mere 25 miles away. The Chicago Board of Health went into deep talks about quarantining the whole city of Hammond in order to stop the spread of smallpox to Chicago. The Board of Health sent inspectors to Hammond in order to see for themselves how the situation was being handled. They found seven cases of smallpox, most of which were not being handled well. The Chicago Board of Health then strongly encouraged the leaders of Hammond to do everything within their power to stop the virus before they had to be cut off from Chicago [4]. No one know quite how the disease got into Chicago, but sometime in the early 1900s, several cases were reported and Chicago and the surrounding cities had to face their fears head on and do all they could to stop the spread.
Individuals, companies, and even entire industries fought to decrease the spread of smallpox from state to state. In February of 1902, thirteen different railroad companies around the Chicago area came together and vowed to do whatever they could to fight smallpox. Many of the trains that went to Chicago came from or through Indiana at some point in their journey. The companies gathered together with the Chicago Board of Health to discuss tactics. In the end, many decisions were made. The railroad companies promised to give service to medical personnel, including helping with the transportation of supplies and any medically educated individuals. They also vowed to make sure every employee that worked for the railways was properly vaccinated and had documented proof. All railway employees were also told to report anyone who looked like they had smallpox to an inspector from the Board of Health. The trains also made special stops in towns with inspectors in order for them to come aboard and help look for anyone showing symptoms of smallpox. Anyone caught with smallpox or symptoms of smallpox would not be allowed to enter into the city of Chicago. In many ways, the spread of the smallpox virus was slowed by the coordination and cooperation of the railroad companies and the Chicago Board of Health.[5]
Chicago was not the only city to worry about smallpox in Indiana. In May of 1902, the Kentucky State Board of Health declared a statewide quarantine of Indiana in order to stop the spread of the disease from crossing over into Louisville. On June 1, no person, whether they were a resident of Indiana or not, was allowed to cross over into Kentucky unless they could present a valid certificate saying they had been vaccinated in the previous five years. At this time, about 6,000 people crossed into Kentucky every day from the cities of New Albany and Jeffersonville either by train, ferry, or by other means. The Ohio River was the great divide between the infected Indiana residents and Louisville. People who lived in New Albany or Jeffersonville could not go to work in Louisville unless they could get proper documentation from a health official. The state of Kentucky felt safer while the residents of Indiana grew angry with them for not letting them go to work.[6]
Cases of upset citizens popped up all over Indiana too. In Kokomo, Indiana, a man named Isaac Murphy and his wife had the whole town up in arms over one case of smallpox. For about a week, police in several cities around the area chased the two in order to take them in because they were thought to have smallpox. Murphy’s wife was eventually detained while Isaac escaped. After being caught, Murphy pleaded his case and eventually was let go. They were sent home and ordered to stay there. One night, an angry mob gathered outside their home and demanded that they leave. At first, they just called for him to leave. But eventually, the mob caused such a scene that the police arrived and tried to keep the peace. The crowd then called for the couple to be hanged in order to stop the disease from spreading. Soon, the crowd declared they would burn down the Murphy’s house if they did not leave. This upset Isaac so much that he shot several shotgun shots at the crowd and hit one police officer in the body and legs. The mob disbursed, claiming that they would return within the hour to lynch Murphy if he did not leave. Isaac Murphy and his wife remained in their house, defending themselves and their property despite a constant threat from those in their own city.[7]
Cases of smallpox in cities all over Indiana were reported for about fifty years, with the majority of the cases within about ten years, 1900 to 1910. The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. In 1902, Lafayette reported 40 cases of smallpox, Decatur had 48 cases, Evansville had 73 cases, and the Muncie area reported over 300 cases.[8] Even Bloomington had reports of five students at Indiana University that were either showing symptoms of the disease or were already diagnosed. All five of these students lived in the same boarding house and were in close vicinity of each other. Several schools across the state closed for weeks on end in order to help prevent further infections of students.[9]
In 1908, new cases of smallpox were still being reported in the Indiana region of the Chicago area. The secretary of the Board of Health, Dr. W. B. Wels, diagnosed one man, William Kain, a barber in Hammond, Indiana. Kain was then escorted into the city of Chicago by members of the Board in a closed car and quarantined for weeks.[10] At the beginning of the outbreak, Chicago did all they could to keep the disease out of the city. But once it was reported in several spots around town, Chicago and neighboring cities, including some in Indiana, worked relentlessly to help stop this terrible disease from taking any more lives.
The smallpox epidemic in the United States in the early 1900s was really one for the books. Not only was this disease terrible for those infected, but also it showed the nation just how scary something like an outbreak of a disease can be. On the other hand, there were some good things that came out of it. Many organizations, like Heath Boards, grew in size, popularity, and strength. These organizations became faces for good in the fight on diseases and crisis. This crisis also showed how important cooperation is at both the city and state level. The various cities in Indiana had to work together to help combat smallpox. The neighboring states like Illinois and Kentucky had to work with representative from Indiana to contain and get rid of the disease. Although smallpox has taken millions of people’s lives throughout human history, the United States should not have to worry about smallpox ever again. The people of this great nation have paid their price, learned what needed to be learned, and came out stronger and more united in the end.
[1] Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Smallpox Disease Overview, http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/overview/disease-facts.asp
[2] Indiana State Department of Health, Mission and Vision, http://www.in.gov/isdh/18930.htm
[3] New York State Department of Health, Strategic Report, http://www.health.ny.gov/press/reports/docs/strategic_report.pdf
[4] “Fears of Hammond Smallpox” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 19, 1902, pg. 11; “Chicago Health Department May Be Forced to Quarantine Against Indiana City”
[5] “Join to Fight Smallpox”, Chicago Daily Tribune, February 2, 1902, pg. 8; “Railroads with Cooperate with Health Department”
[6] “Inter-State Quarantine”, The New York Times, May 28, 1902, pg. 2; “The Kentucky Board of Health Declares One Against Indiana On Account of Smallpox”
[7] “Mob Routed By Patient” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 27,1902, pg. 2; “Indiana Man Accused of Having Smallpox Holds House”
[8] “Indiana Alarmed By Malady” Chicago Daily Tribune, February 7, 1902, pg. 2; “Smallpox at Many Points and the Health Authorities Make Unusual Efforts”
[9]“Smallpox in Many Places” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 25, 1900, pg. 2; “Several States fighting the Disease”
[10] “Smallpox Case At Hammond” Chicago Daily Tribune, January 25, 1908, pg. 2; “William Kain”
