Downtown in Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Victims of the Yellow Fever
Photographed by Mike Stroud, 2010
1. Victims of the Yellow Fever Marker
Victims of the Yellow
Fever Epidemics of
1853, 1858, 1867, 1871
and 1887 - 88 who are
Buried in Oaklawn
Erected 1997 by Tampa Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Notable Events. A significant historical year for this entry is 1853.
Location. 27° 57.265′ N, 82° 27.445′ W. Marker is in Tampa, Florida, in Hillsborough County. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from East Harrison Street near North Morgan Street. Located in the Oaklawn Cemetery, near the East Harrison Street entrance, along the walkway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Tampa FL 33602, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Florida’s Tampa Bay. It is also in the American South and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 29 Sea Captains and Mariners (here, next to this marker); Confederate States Soldiers and Sailors (here, next to this marker); Tampa Native Americans (within shouting distance of this marker); Fort Brooke Mass Grave (within shouting distance of this marker); Kennedy (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S.S. Sagamore (within shouting distance of this marker); Oaklawn and St. Louis Cemetery
this page online
Another marker is no longer nearby. Oaklawn Cemetery (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
Regarding Victims of the Yellow Fever. Yellow Fever, Mass Grave; The second mass grave (in the cemetery)contains an undetermined number of yellow fever victims. Tampa, like many Southern coastal towns and cities, was seasonally assailed by this often-fatal form of tropical hemorrhagic fever, known throughout the South as “yellow jack,” or “bilious fever.” Tampa had five outbreaks between 1850 and 1905. The worst was 1887-1888 and – not knowing the cause of the illness – locals hastily buried victims en masse, hoping to stem contagion. Ironically a local doctor, John P. Wall (also buried at Oaklawn), was correct in suggesting that yellow fever was spread by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, but he was widely disbelieved.
(Historic Guides and the Tampa Historical Society)
Photographed by Mike Stroud, January 9, 2010
2. Victims of the Yellow Fever Marker, shares location with the 29 Sea Captains Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,440 times since then and 76 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 9, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
