A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with

communicable disease An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s such as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

. Often used for forcible

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

, many towns and cities had one or more pesthouses accompanied by a cemetery or a

waste pond A waste pond or chemical pond is a small impounded water body used for the disposal of water pollutants, and sometimes utilized as a method of recycling or decomposing toxic substances. Such waste ponds may be used for regular disposal of polluta ...

nearby for disposal of the dead.

Fever sheds in Canada

Fever sheds were built in several communities across

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (, also the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay/ Hudson Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newf ...

in 1847, to quarantine sick and dying Irish immigrants, who contracted

during the voyage to the New World during the Great Famine.

Montreal

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, between 3,500 and 6,000 Irish immigrants died in fever sheds in a quarantine area known as Windmill Point. Three sheds were initially constructed, long by 40 to wide. As thousands more sick immigrants landed, more sheds had to be erected. The number of sheds would grow to 22, with troops cordoning off the area so the sick could not escape.

Toronto

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, during the summer of 1847, 863 Irish immigrants died of typhus at fever sheds built by the

Toronto Board of Health Toronto Public Health (TPH) is the public health unit in Toronto, Ontario. It is responsible for delivering public health programs and services, enforcing public health regulations and advising Toronto City Council on health issues. The current ...

at the northwest corner of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

and John Street. There were at least 12 sheds, 22 metres long by 7.5 metres wide.

Saint John

Partridge Island, New Brunswick Partridge Island is a Canadian island located in the Bay of Fundy off the coast of Saint John, New Brunswick, within the city's Inner Harbour. The island is a provincial historic site and was designated a National Historic Site in 1974. It lies ...

, just outside the main harbour of

Saint John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...

, was chosen as the location for a pest house and quarantine station as far back as 1785. In 1847, with a large influx of Irish migrants, the typhus epidemic quickly filled the fever shed with sick and dying. By the 1847 typhus season, 2115 people had died in New Brunswick, with 1196 dying at Partridge Island and in Saint John.

Surviving pest houses

United States

* Pest House (Cockeysville, Maryland) *

Pest House (Concord, Massachusetts) The Ephraim Potter House, a historic house and former pest house at 158 Fairhaven Road in Concord, Massachusetts, is also known as the Pest House, a name used in the 18th century to describe a building in which to quarantine those afflicted wi ...

Pest House (Stillwater, Minnesota) The Pest House in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States, is a former quarantine facility used by the city of Stillwater circa 1872 to 1910. It is a rare surviving example of a pest house, a common public health strategy of the late 1 ...

Pest House (Knappton, Washington)
* 7.3 Ma'am Pest House (Redwood City, California) * Pest House (Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia) * Pest House at the Wood County Museum

United Kingdom

There are nine surviving pest houses, including: *

Findon, West Sussex Findon is a semi-rural clustered village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Worthing. Governance An electoral ward in the same name. This ward stretches south west to Patching with ...

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres ...

* Grantham, Lincs.

Deddington Deddington is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets, Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. It has been a market town since the 12th cent ...

, Oxfordshire has a Pest House Field.The Pest House Field
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Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

has a Pesthouse common. * Great Chart, Kent * Cranbrook, Kent • Collier Street, Kent

The Netherlands

There is an extant pest house in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, the Pesthuis ( nl), built in 1661 to accommodate many patients, although it has never served this purpose.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lynchburg VA Museum pesthouse
US

UK

UK
Pest (plague) Houses - the start of public health
UK
Freedictionary definition

Vermont Journal
US Quarantine facilities Death Isolation (health care)