Pest house

Fever sheds in Canada

Main article: Typhus epidemic of 1847

Fever sheds were built in several communities across Eastern Canada in 1847, to quarantine sick and dying Irish immigrants, who contracted typhus during the voyage to the New World during the Great Famine.

Montreal

In Montreal, 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, 150 ft long by 40 to 50 ft 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

In Toronto, during the summer of 1847, 863 Irish immigrants died of typhus at fever sheds built by the Toronto Board of Health at the northwest corner of King and John Street. There were at least 12 sheds, 22 metres long by 7.5 metres wide.

Saint John

Partridge Island, New Brunswick, just outside the main harbour of Saint John, 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)
• Pest House (Stillwater, Minnesota)
• 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
• Odiham
• Grantham, Lincs.

Deddington, Oxfordshire has a Pest House Field.

Richmond, London has a Pesthouse common.

• Great Chart, Kent
• Cranbrook, Kent • Collier Street, Kent

The Netherlands

There is an extant pest house in Leiden, the Pesthuis (nl), built in 1661 to accommodate many patients, although it has never served this purpose.

References

References

1. Gallagher, The Reverend John A.. (1936). "The Irish Emigration of 1847 and Its Canadian Consequences". CCHA Report, University of Manitoba Web Site.
2. Bruemmer, Rene. (2009-05-30). "Seeking hope, they found death". Canwest.
3. "Toronto's Historical Plaques".
4. (11 April 2007). "The UnderTOw: The Fever Sheds". BlogTO.
5. "1967.25A-C {{!}} Partridge Island".
6. [http://www.findonvillage.com/0504_the_pest_house.htm Findon’s Pest House]
7. [http://www.deddington.org.uk/history/buildings/pesthouse The Pest House Field]