Emergency Cholera Hospital

Scurvy, diarrhea, dysentery, typhoidfever andmalaria werethemostcommonmedicalproblemsinthearea. Malaria wassaidtohavebeenintroducedbyimmigrantsfromCanada. The local swamps abounded with the necessary vector, the Anophelesmosquito. Diagnosedinlessernumberswerecases oftyphus, rheumatism, erysipelas, infection following injuries, and pneumonia. Respiratory infections were common.

Cholera monument in the Sacramento City Cemetery, 10th and Broadway. Photo by Irma West.

And then there was the cholera epidemic of October 1850.Thisdisasterwassparkedby animmigrantwho diedon the levee after debarking at Sacramento from the ship, New World, which had brought cholera in addition to the news of California's statehood. In Sacramento, the disease spread so rapidly thatwithinthree weeksabout 1,000, or 15 percent, of the population were dead and another 1,000 or so were sick. Those who could fled the town, leavingthe sick and dying to fend for themselves and spreading the epidemic into the foothills. Among the few who stayed to care for the victims were the 30-40 physicians ofSacramento. They worked day andnight.Theyalsodied—17ofthemwhoseaverageagewas just 32 years. It was the highest mortality on record for doctors caringforvictims ofan epidemic. The cityhospital at the Fort admitted all patients regardless offinancial status, but it was not enough.33 An emergency cholera hospital was setup in a frame building near Second and L Streets, and a city dispensary in theTranscript Building on KStreet. 34

The newspaper, Alta, of November 4, 1850, described Sacramento asfollows:"This City presentsan aspectwhichis truly terrible. The streets are deserted, and frequented only by the hearse. Nearly all business is at a standstill. There seems to be a deep sense of expectancy, tinged with fear, pervading all classes. There is an expression of anxiety in everyeyeandallsenseofpecuniarylossismergedinagreater apprehension ofpersonal danger . . . Many deaths are concealed and others not reported . . . Many are returned as having died ofdysentery, fevers, diarrhea, etc., for the purpose ofquieting public apprehension.”

If the 1850 epidemic occurred in Sacramento today, about 55,000 citizens would be dying, another 55,000 or so wouldbe very ill andabout300,000 would befleeingin panic — all within three weeks. Now, of course, cholera can be successfully treated and prevented.

In a differentcategory was the eight-room “pesthouse,” primarily for smallpox victims, established, in 1862, on F Street between 18th and 19th. Some 380 cases ofsmallpox

were recorded that year, following the usual flood. This establishmentwasused also fortheoccasionalcase ofleprosy thatpassed through town. Amonglaterrecordsbearingon it isapaperdeliveredbeforetheSacramentoSocietyofMedical Improvement, in 1869, by Thomas Logan, M.D., who was listed as “Visiting Physician to the Small-pox Hospital.” He enumerated24 casesofsmallpox,with 3 deathsand 11 cures, the remainder still undertreatment. 35