By Jessica Gorman
The last yellow fever epidemic in the United States occurred in New Orleans in 1905. The mode of transmission had been discovered just five years before, but proper preventative measures were not enforced. Despite quarantine procedures in place at the port, the illness made its way into the city and began to spread.
In its beginning stages, as tends to be the case, there was no official confirmation of yellow fever as the cause of the illness. New Orleans stepped up requirements for steamboats traveling to and from the city. They were to carry a certificate of fumigation, signal for a medical inspector to confirm that there were signs of infection before unloading cargo, and must be fumigated again before leaving. Guards ensured that crew members had no direct interaction with anyone not aboard the vessel.
Still, by July 22nd, Shreveport made the decision to impose a quarantine against New Orleans. Others quickly followed suit. Mississippi quarantined against the entire state of Louisiana. No train tickets in Louisiana were to be sold for any destination in Mississippi. However, Louisiana passengers could travel by rail through the state to other destinations.
By the end of the month, thirty-six deaths had been reported in New Orleans and quarantines were rapidly being put in place, especially with the report that a man believed to be infected had managed to leave New Orleans and travel to Bunkie. Alabama and Texas joined Mississippi in quarantining against the entire state of Louisiana. In Ruston, trains arriving there were reported to remain locked and only opened for those possessing health certificates. Guards were in place in Natchitoches to prevent anyone from entering the city by train from any place believed to be infected.
Minden mayor Robert Roberts issued the following quarantine proclamation:
“Realizing the gravity of the yellow fever situation prevailing in New Orleans,
a strict quarantine is hereby declared against New Orleans, Bunkie, and all
other infected districts.
Railroads are instructed not to sell tickets to Minden from infected points and
all persons coming to Minden from other points will provide themselves with
health certificates.”
At the beginning of August, Shreveport expanded its quarantine to include all places east of Arcadia. Railroads implemented stricter restrictions as well. The Vicksburg, Shreveport, & Pacific Railroad would run a train from Shreveport to Chattanooga but no one was allowed off anywhere in between. The Cotton Belt would run a train to St. Louis, but with the doors locked as it passed through Arkansas. With a suspected case of yellow fever at Texarkana, KCS was not allowed to run through that city even with the doors locked. Alexandria was no longer allowing trains from Shreveport.
In Minden, the quarantine was expanded to include Shreveport and a “shotgun quarantine” was put in place at the parish line on all highways. No train passengers were allowed into the city.
In Bossier Parish, health inspectors were put in place throughout the parish. Residents were urged to prevent mosquitos. Anyone not known to local residents and not in possession of a health certificate was to be taken to a detention camp. All railways were notified that in order to sell a ticket to any destination within Bossier Parish, the passenger must possess a health certificate. Trains were stopped at detention points at the parish line and inspected before being allowed to enter the parish. Any trains not passing inspection were not allowed through.
On August 11th, it was reported that Congressman John T. Watkins, of Minden, traveled to Coushatta for a speech. When he arrived there, he was not allowed off the train and was forced to return. By this point, 616 cases of yellow fever and 112 deaths had been reported at New Orleans. Four cases had also been reported in Shreveport. All had been stopped as they tried to enter the city and taken to a detention camp. Of those, Ed Haslitt died and Ed Jones was determined to have malaria. The other two recovered. Barney Tracy and Albert Miller were treated, released from the detention camp, and assisted in quickly leaving the city.
Minden began to relax its quarantine. The highways were no longer guarded and visitors were allowed into the city as long as they had a health certificate. However, Sibley maintained its shotgun quarantine and no one was allowed off trains there. Restrictions on travel from Shreveport were loosened.
Locally, the relaxed restrictions didn’t last long. Soon Minden began rejecting health certificates for anyone from Mississippi, Memphis, the Alabama coast, and any parish south of DeSoto, Red River, Bienville, Jackson, and Ouachita. A month later, Minden’s quarantine included all of Louisiana with the exception of its neighboring parishes of Bossier, Bienville, and Claiborne. Even then, anyone in the area must be known and must not have traveled outside of the area in the previous ten days. More quarantine guards were added to enforce these measures.
A total of 452 deaths occurred as a result of the epidemic. After New Orleans implemented measures against mosquitos, the transmission of the illness began to subside. October 1905 marked the end of the last yellow fever epidemic in the United States.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)