Infectious Disease in History: The Fever Sheds

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I've been working on a number of articles about Irish migrations to North America. That inevitably brings up the subject of the Potato Famine, but contrary to what many of us believe a large number of Irish had already arrived in Canada well before the famine began.

Still, infectious disease was an issue for earlier waves of Irish migrants. The second cholera pandemic travelled from India and China into Russia, then on to France and across the Channel to England. Within weeks, it had spread to both Scotland and Ireland. The disease was not stopped by borders, changes in weather, or even quarantines.

Cholera was a recently discovered disease, fatal in 50% or more cases. And it had never been seen in the Western Hemisphere. The quarantine station at Grosse Île, Quebec was set up to deal with the threat of cholera in 1832. Despite the precautions taken here and abroad, the disease continued to spread. Thousands died in the fever sheds that were built when quarantine facilities at hospitals overflowed well beyond capacity.

During the years of the Great Famine typhus, also called "ship's fever," was the main culprit. The people leaving Ireland were already weakened from poverty and famine, and they were crowded into ships that were unfit for human transport. Many died during the long voyage across the Atlantic, and the French Canadians in Quebec are known for adopting the many Irish Catholic orphans whose parents perished before they reached North America.

Quarantines were again put into place in reaction to the typhus outbreak, but the facilities at Grosse Île were so overwhelmed that ships were sent on to Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto. Quarantines were enforced by the military, for fear the sick would escape and spread infection even further. Thousands upon thousands died, and were buried hastily in mass graves.

Somewhere between 3,500 and 6,000 bodies were buried in an unmarked grave at Windmill Point, near the Port of Montreal. When Irish labourers came to the area years later, a tent city was erected to house them during the building of the Victoria Bridge. The inhabitants of "Goose Village" (officially Victoriatown) discovered the grave, and placed a 30 ton stone on the site to commemorate the loss of their countrymen. The "Black Rock" monument is one of only three landmarks that was not destroyed when Goose Village was bulldozed in the 1960s.

This content is copyrighted. Please feel free to share by sending others a link to this page, or contact the author about purchasing reprint rights. Many thanks to Gilles Douaire for sharing his photo of the Black Rock, that we all might learn more of our heritage.