The Scourge of '78: The Stubborn Resilience of a Southern City

Before the 1870s, the bustling city of Memphis was among the strongest and most successful cities in the south after the Civil War, and things seemed as if they would only get better. Little attention was paid to the tiny female insects that preyed on the city's people. The impact of the yellow fever virus which they carried would have devastating results on the city's population and society. As with all disasters, there are individuals who always find a way to survive, and to better themselves in the process.

On Sunday August 10, 1878, a number of telegrams from Grenada, Mississippi reached the hands of Memphis city officials, pleading for help with an outbreak of yellow fever in the city. Memphians were stunned by the announcement, and the fear of a disease that they knew little about began to spread faster than the disease itself.[1]The first case announced to the public was the August 13^th death of a Mrs. Bionda, who lived at 212 Front Street. The report ran in the newspaper the next day. For the next four days, over have of the city's population, around 25,000 in number, left in a rush to escape the epidemic. What many of the residents did not realize, however, is that the fever had reached the city weeks before the initial announcement. Between July 21^st and August 13^th, there were more than ten cases of yellow fever, and at least four deaths. The epidemic would eventually involve nearly 17,600 and take 5,150 people with it, roughly about 10 percent of the city's population.[2]