Brownsville in Haywood County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Yellow Fever

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2022

1. Yellow Fever Marker

Inscription. Victims of the 1878 yellow fever epidemic are buried in this cemetery. Of the 844 reported cases, it is known that there were more than 200 deaths. Elsewhere in this cemetery is a marker to Sergeant Mike McGrath, a member of the Howard Society and a hero of that epidemic.

Erected 1999 by City of Brownsville • Webb Banks, Mayor • Haywood County Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1878.

Location. 35° 35.409′ N, 89° 16.016′ W. Marker is in Brownsville, Tennessee, in Haywood County. Marker can be reached from Margin Street, 0.1 miles east of South McLemore Avenue, on the right when traveling east. Marker is in the southeast corner of Oakwood Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Brownsville TN 38012, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Wesleyan Female College (approx. ¼ mile away); Holly Springs–Brownsville & Ohio Railroad (approx. ¼ mile away); Pythian Hotel (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Carnegie Library (approx. 0.3 miles away); Brownsville (approx. 0.3 miles away); Opera House (approx. 0.3

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miles away); Joseph Wingate Folk (approx. 0.3 miles away); Army National Guard (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Brownsville.

Regarding Yellow Fever. The Howard Association, founded in New Orleans, was a benevolence association that arranged for volunteer professional nurses and doctors to care for the poor who had contracted yellow fever and to help pick up bodies of those who had died from it.

Also see . . .
1. Yellow Fever Epidemics. When the first death from yellow fever in Memphis was announced in 1878, panicked residents – remembering a deadly yellow fever outbreak just five years earlier – fled the city. Instead of escaping the dreadful disease, they carried it to towns, like Brownsville, along the railroad. (Christopher Caplinger, Tennessee Encyclopedia, posted Oct. 8, 2017) (Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Yellow Fever... the Plague of Memphis. With its swampy terrain, warm weather and open sewage, Memphis – just 50 miles from Brownsville – was the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. As a result, six yellow fever epidemics hit the city

Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 20, 2022

2. Yellow Fever Marker

in the 19th century, none more devastating than the fifth one in 1878. (Historic-Memphis.com) (Submitted on March 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 24, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 306 times since then and 64 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.