Near Tiburon in Marin County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Protecting the Public Health

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 3, 2013

1. Protecting the Public Health Marker

Inscription. In 1891 the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, now the U.S. Public Health Service, opened a Quarantine Station in Ayala Cove. Marine Hospital Service officers inspected ships looking for signs of illness among the passengers and crew. If contagious diseases such as smallpox, black plague, or cholera were discovered, everyone aboard the ship was quarantined at the station for 14 days and treated. The ship’s cargo and passenger baggage were disinfected and fumigated using steam and a cocktail of chemicals including hydrochloric acid, sodium cyanide, formaldehyde, and ammonia.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.

Location. 37° 51.99′ N, 122° 26.305′ W. Marker is near Tiburon, California, in Marin County. It is on Perimeter Road, on the right when traveling north. Perimeter Road is a 5 mile, mostly paved, walking/bicycle path that goes around Angel Island. Angel Island State Park is accessed by ferry from Tiburon or San Francisco. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Belvedere Tiburon CA 94920, United States of America.

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Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area,

in the North Coast,

and specifically on the Coast Ranges.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Melting Glaciers + Rising Seas = (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Medical Officers at Home (about 700 feet away); Angel Island (approx. 0.2 miles away); Isolating Disease (approx. 0.2 miles away); Ayala Cove (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Angel Island (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Ayala Cove (approx. ¼ mile away); Camp Reynolds (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tiburon.

Also see . . . Quarantine Station - Angel Island Conservancy. The first ship to have her passengers quarantined on the
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, October 3, 2013

2. Protecting the Public Health Marker
Ayala Cove, aka Hospital Cove.
island was the steamship China on April 27, 1891: there was smallpox on board. (Submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Quarantine Station Building #9 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James W. Rosenthal, circa 1933

3. Quarantine Station Building #9

Library of Congress HABS CA-2779-A

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 538 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 12, 2013, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 3. submitted on October 18, 2013. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.