THE 1918 INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC STRIKES ROCK HILL
By Paul Gettys
In order to bring home the impact of the great influenza pandemic of 1918, I thought it would be interesting to review the Rock Hill Evening Herald (now known as the Herald) during the height of the epidemic and to document the local impacts. The paper is available on microfilm at the York County Library in Rock Hill. This method of research has several limitations. Of course, it limits the coverage mostly to Rock Hill, so it will not provide detailed information on the other communities in York County and on the rural areas. Due to the biases of the day, most of the news articles provided very little information on the city’s African American community and how it was faring in the epidemic. However, from the viewpoint of a century after the event, the newspaper provides one of the best ways of understanding the epidemic’s impact on a typical southern town. Because almost all the citations are from the Herald, I will not include footnotes.
The flu epidemic of 1918 raged in other nations and other parts of the United States before it impacted South Carolina. In late August and early September of 1918, the Herald carried news of normal events with no mention of the flu. Schools started the fall session, the paper carried normal events, movie ads, and notices for Sunday School conventions, and people were traveling freely. Soldiers were visiting home from Camp Jackson in Columbia and other World War I camps, even though the flu was raging in many Army camps. On August 13, there was a “health campaign” sponsored by the State Health Board which came to Rock Hill and sponsored presentations in 14 schools. Talks were made by local leaders on the value of good health, sanitation, and communicable diseases. Although influenza was not mentioned specifically, this was probably an effort to head off the epidemic. On September 30, it was noted that Edwin Barron and Paul Workman had arrived home from the Citadel, which had just been closed because of an epidemic of the Spanish influenza, with sixty cases in the school’s infirmary. The next day, it was reported that Miss Cecil Fewell, a teacher, had returned home from Fredericksburg, Virginia where the schools had been closed. During the same week, several cases of illness are mentioned, but the flu is not identified as the cause.
On October 2, Fort Mill’s Graded School was closed due to a large number of cases of influenza. In Rock Hill, there seemed to be no concern, as the normal schedule of events continued. There were large public meetings for the latest campaign for Liberty Loans, the federal effort to sell war bonds to support the costs of World War I. Movies were advertising and the circus was coming to town.
On October 4, several items of troubling news came to Rock Hill. Mr. G. F. Blakemore, a traveling salesman from Baltimore, died the night before. He had been staying at the Carolina Hotel and was taken to a local hospital. Mr. Blakemore was 26 and had been married only four weeks. He had probably contracted the flu before coming to Rock Hill, and then developed pneumonia. Most of the deaths during the epidemic were from pneumonia resulting from the flu, and most were among relatively young people. The same day, it was reported that Claude Logan Moore from McConnellsville, had died at Camp Jackson in Columbia of flu and pneumonia, only 22 years old. In the same paper, a long article on the “Spanish Influenza or Grippe” was printed, provided by the U. S. Public Health Service. It described in detail the best information available on the disease. On October 5, Mrs. Paul Workman of the Herald staff was reported ill at home with flu, along with her children Paul, Jr and Margaret and Sarah. It is possible that Paul, her son, had brought the disease home with him from the Citadel. For this reason, the administration at Winthrop College decided not to close, and to keep students confined on the campus in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease throughout the state.
Deaths were becoming a daily event. Miss Margaret Nicholson, a native of Fort Mill, died in Charlotte of pneumonia on October 4. In Rock Hill, Walter McCorkle of Black Street was confined to his home with pneumonia, and the section of Black Street by his home was closed to traffic to reduce noise. He passed away on October 6, as did the six-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Gallman of Rhea street.
As the epidemic began to hit hard, the Rock Hill Board of Health declared a quarantine in the city on October 7. No public gatherings of any kind would be allowed, churches were asked not to hold services, and the Sparks Circus was notified not to come to town. The next morning, the School Board closed the public schools until further notice. Dr. J. R. Miller, city health officer, told the Herald that citizens should take precautions but should not panic. He felt that the actions taken would serve to arrest the progress of the epidemic. The city’s action was followed shortly by an order of the James A. Hayes, secretary of the State Board of Health, to close all schools, churches, movies, and other public gatherings statewide.
By October 8, the Herald began publishing daily lists of “the sick” and “deaths” due to the epidemic. The pattern was all too familiar. In many cases, entire families had the flu at the same time. In a number of cases, the flu would develop into pneumonia, and these cases often led to death. Many of the victims were children or young adults with families. In those cases of the flu which did not develop into pneumonia, few died and most had recovered within a few days. On October 9, it was reported that John Brown, a Catawba Indian who lived on the Reservation, had lost four children to the disease within a few days. A fifth died a few days later. It was later reported that almost every family on the reservation had suffered from the flu. The disease struck all classes of society. One of the early victims was James W. Wylie, who had moved to Virginia to work in a plant producing war materials. He was the nephew of Dr. Gill Wylie (founder of the Southern Power Company) and his wife was the daughter of prominent attorney W. B. Wilson. Mrs. Wylie was unable to attend the funeral, as she was at home sick with their four children. Other families who suffered lived in mill villages or lower income areas. Rev. J. P. Tucker, pastor of the First Baptist Church, wrote a letter for publication on October 11 stating, “The entire country, the training camps, and our own community are being swept by the perils of disease.” He worked tirelessly as a volunteer throughout the epidemic, although he reminded young people to keep up their Sunday School lessons at home. All churches in Rock Hill had cancelled services.
By October 10, the local chapter of the Red Cross began to mobilize, and provided a tremendous help to the community. The Red Cross established a headquarters at the Chamber of Commerce office, began raising funds, and organized volunteers. The jobs undertaken included nursing in homes where the entire family was sick, collection of food and cooked dinners, transportation of the food and medicine in private vehicles, and providing linens and other goods for families. Many ladies in Rock Hill provided selfless services to the sick. Mrs. Fred Bell was chair of the “war kitchen” which was set up to provide meals for families. In some cases, volunteers themselves became sick after ministering to families. There was an acute shortage of trained nurses, many of whom were working in the war effort. The Red Cross in Fort Mill provided a similar effort, with a soup kitchen opened in the Meacham Building on Trade Street. There were daily meetings in Fort Mill of volunteers and constant activities. In Rock Hill, the Red Cross opened a branch effort for the African American community at Mount Prospect Baptist Church. The effort included a canteen run by Mrs. T. S. Gilmore and Mrs. M. M. Riley. They sent meals out all over the city, with Rev. Boulware’s car being used to transport. A canteen was also set up at the school at the Catawba Indian Reservation.
Many local men serving in the armed forces in World War I suffered or died from the flu. Their families at home also suffered. On October 11, it was reported that Mrs. Lillian Harrison Summers of Flint Street died of flu and heart failure. She had been married for less than a year to M. C. Summers, who was serving in France. Later in the epidemic, Mrs. George Pace of the Arcade Mill Village died. Her husband was serving in France, and she left a four month old infant.
A typical day during the height of the epidemic was October 14. The Herald reported that 27 individuals or families had flu and were either confined to home or recovering. On the same day, eleven deaths were reported. These included Robert Baker, age 16 of the Aragon Mill Village; Buford Ferrell, age 6; Dora Denby, age one; Harvey Ivy, age 6; Annie Lee Hargett, age 6; Evelyn Polk, age 9; Miss Beulah Moody, a nurse in Charlotte who had nursed Mr. Blakemore, the first case in Rock Hill; a nephew of Chief of Police J. M. Youngblood, who died in Virginia; the eight year old son of David Harris, a Catawba Indian; and former residents Albert Sullivan in Marion, NC and James Edward Graham of Columbia.
Churches and schools remained closed. Some meetings for the sale of Liberty Loan bonds continued, but these were held in the open air, usually in school yards. Many funerals were held in homes, in the yard of the deceased, or in the cemetery to prevent gathering of groups in enclosed places.
By mid-October, it was hoped that new cases of influenza were diminishing. Local officials hoped that this was the beginning of the end of the epidemic. In the October 15 paper, most cases reported were people and families who were recovering. This included nine members of the J. M. Whisonant family on the Winthrop College farm and residents on East Main Street, East Black Street, Johnston Street, and Spruce Street. The Red Cross reported that day that it had served 120 meals the day before, some of whom had had nothing to eat for 48 hours because all members of the household were sick. The Red Cross needed twelve cars every day to deliver meals and medicines. Many ladies were still serving as volunteer nurses. Mrs. Helen Elliott O’Neal was a faithful Red Cross worker who had visited many homes of the sick and who now herself fell ill with influenza at her home on East Main Street. Deaths were still a daily occurrence. On October 17, deaths included A. C. Lee (age 53), an engineer for the Southern Railway, who died at his home on Elm Avenue; Charles H. Howard (age 30) of Johnston Street, who left a wife and two children; Jesse C. Allen, (age 8), son of Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Allen of Hampton Street; Mrs. Nora Sanders (age 32) a Catawba Indian who died on the Reservation; and Dr. Edward K. Hardin, who formerly had been pastor of St. Johns Methodist Church and died in Asheville. His wife and four children were suffering from the flu.
On October 18, the State Board of Health reported that the flu was beginning to wane in the Piedmont, but was beginning to hit hard in the Pee Dee region. The City Board of Health advised against any assembly, and reported that the police were prepared to break up any loitering or gathering. Drivers were advised to slow their autos to ten miles per hour to avoid stirring up dust which might contain the flu virus. Some businesses in Rock Hill had to close or curtail operations due to sick employees. The Herald contained letters with home remedies, recommendations from physicians, and ads for dubious products such as the “famous Hyomel Inhaling Outfit” and various poultices and pills.
The Fennell Infirmary, the principal hospital in Rock Hill, was overwhelmed by flu patients. On October 23, it was reported that the Red Cross would open an emergency flu hospital in a home provided by E. L. Barnes. Under the recommendation of Dr. Miller, there were two nurses on duty and doctors available. By November 1, there were ten patients in the hospital with Miss Carrie Evans as the head nurse and Miss Nellie Driver as housekeeper. A local doctor credited the hospital with saving several lives by providing more intensive care than could be made available in homes. Other actions which saved lives included the work in the Aragon Cotton Mill Village. When the epidemic hit the village hard on October 10, mill operator Alexander Long opened a community kitchen, organized visits to homes, provided clean linens, and had doctors and nurses on duty. The village reported on October 24 that there had been five deaths. The committee undertaking this effort included Mrs. Alexander Long, Miss Loretta Culp, Miss Mattie White, Mrs. S. A. Lyles, and Mrs. Crenshaw.
Winthrop College avoided the worst of the epidemic. When the statewide and local quarantines were announced, some college girls went home, but the vast majority stayed on campus. Classes continued, although local Rock Hill girls who commuted to class were subject to the quarantine. By November 1, the local quarantine was lifted. By early December, Winthrop physician Dr. Eleanora B. Saunders could report that the college had avoided serious consequences from the flu. There had been a few mild cases of flu after students returned after the state-wide quarantine was lifted on November 4, but by mid-December there were no students in the infirmary. Other colleges had varying results. The Citadel had closed early in the epidemic, sending home all students and possibly helping to spread the disease state-wide. Erskine College, in relatively isolated Due West, remained open and had only a few mild cases. Converse College closed late in the epidemic on December 9, when a resurgence of the flu hit the Spartanburg area.
By early November, the epidemic was loosening its hold on Rock Hill. The canteen at Mount Prospect Baptist Church was closed, but meals continued to be sent to homes. The quarantine was lifted in Fort Mill on November 7 and the Rock Hill special flu hospital was closed the same day. On November 10, Sunday services began at most Rock Hill churches, and schools opened on Monday. The Catawba Reservation was clear of flu. On November 11, the Armistice ending World War I was signed, and the residents of Rock Hill must have felt they were delivered from a world war and a terrible flu epidemic.
Cases would continue to be reported throughout the rest of 1918 and into 1919. Other cities in the Southeast reported resurgent outbreaks of the flu which required local quarantines. Each day, the Herald reported scattered cases and some deaths into the new year.
Rock Hill’s experience in the 1918 flu epidemic was typical of many towns and cities. It came very quickly, it hit entire families, and the deaths were largely among children and young adults. Only two deaths were reported for people over 50. Most deaths were among young children and adults in their 20s and 30s. A total of 53 deaths were reported in the Herald, some of which were in surrounding towns and the countryside. The total number of cases locally is unknown, but was probably around 3,000. The flu also was typical in that it struck all economic levels and all races, including whites, African Americans, Catawba Indians, and even two prominent merchants who were Syrian Christian immigrants. Perhaps one of the most impressive elements of the event was the response of the people of Rock Hill. The local Board of Health and physicians provided quiet and dedicated leadership. The Red Cross quickly organized and led a remarkable effort of volunteers, all of whom served knowing that they were daily placing themselves in danger of contracting the disease. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of citizens did their part to help those in need.
R&R NOTE: Mr. Paul Gettys, the author, is a regular contributor to the pages of Roots and Recall. Besides his excellent written contributions, he provides invaluable insights into local history and works endless hours to see that accurate and enjoyable history is preserved on numerous subjects across S.C. He is an author, historian, and volunteer who continues to give graciously of his time and talents to see local history recorded and freely provided to anyone interested. Thanks!
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