Revealing Roots of Resilience: Lessons Learned from the Yellow Fever Epidemic in Memphis (1855-1879)

by Mia Murray, CARRI-Memphis Urban Area (MUA) Research Assistant, The University of Memphis

Historical accounts of places that have proven resilient to catastrophic disasters, like San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake or Chicago after the 1871 fires, provide unique insights into resilience.  Previous events can provide lessons learned for all communities. Lessons from these events can assist emergency planning of all types (response, preparedness, awareness, and recovery). The CARRI-MUA research and community engagement team sought to learn what those experiences reveal about the resilience characteristics for the MUA.  As part of this effort, a reconstruction of events impacting the MUA is being constructed and investigated.  

One of the most catastrophic events in Memphis history was the Yellow Fever epidemic of the mid- 1800s. In fact, in the immediate aftermath of the epidemic, newspapers reported Memphis would actually cease to exist. So the MUA team was motivated to capture the lessons of resilience expressed by the community during this historic time.

"Then there will be no such place as Memphis, for she will be numbered among the things were like the ancient metropolis from which she took her name. People will speak of her as the settlement on the Chickasaw Bluffs, or something of that sort, and Nashville will be the biggest city in Tennessee" - The Daily Memphis Avalanche, newspaper of the city, (Wren,1998).

The 1855 - 1879 Yellow Fever epidemic was the force behind the statement above. Ships originating in Cuba carrying slaves up the Mississippi River introduced the epidemics to the bluff city (Magness, 1997). 17,000 cases of yellow fever were reported in the Memphis area, a peak of 5,510 lives were lost when the 1878 mild winter failed to kill diseased mosquitoes (Magness, 1997). The Memphis municipal government was debt stricken when the epidemic began.  In 1879 when the epidemic officially ended, the mayor and councilmen resigned from office, and the city became a Tax District with the city charter dissolved (Wren, 1998). Nevertheless, today there is such a place as Memphis, Tennessee inviting the question: what made this place resilient to such a catastrophe?

The roots of resilience revealed by the yellow fever experience can be associated with human capital and connection to place; formal and informal leadership; internal and external resources; location (site and situation) and economic activity linked to location. Location along the Mississippi River brought both the epidemic to town and also provided transportation and distribution opportunities. Situated high above the flood plain on the Chickasaw Bluffs, Memphis had prime access to the river and to the railway system which undeniably contributed to the current status of Memphis as anchor to the Mid-South.

Most significantly, the epidemic and aftermath revealed the spirit of Memphians. Human capital, capacity, commitment and connection to their community motivated choices of individuals to remain and restore the city. While at the local, state and national level the future of Memphis was debated, the Memphis leaders held elections to select officials to steer the city toward prosperity (Tennessee Encyclopedia, 2008).

Choices to remain and restore the community were made as a community; members of the African-American community determined their risk of contracting the disease to be one in four thousand and in a united voice elected to remain in Memphis, creating one of the largest post-Civil War African-American communities during its time (Commercial Appeal, 1979).

The first municipal bond purchased after Memphis became a tax district was by Robert R. Church, Sr., the first African-American millionaire in the United States. As a noted businessman and community leader, Church helped promote a sense of, and connection to, place. The presence of committed formal and informal leaders complemented the sentiments of residents and provided the foundation for re-establishing Memphis.

With a foundation in the social/human elements of place, infrastructure restoration was critical to revitalizing the devastated city. The National Board of Health (NBOH) conducted surveys to identify stricken areas that would be destroyed, bulldozed or incinerated (NBOH, 1879). The industrial area located at the western terminus of Poplar Avenue was the origin point of the clean-up effort (The West Tennessee Catholic, 2003). Happy Hollow, the area where most industrial workers lived and home to the city's auctioning block, was targeted for extensive demolition. Few neighborhoods were deemed salvageable and only those of more affluent were safe from destruction. A model waste water system was ultimately installed and diversity in land ownership increased dramatically (Tennessee Encyclopedia, 2008).

With population growth every decade since the city's beginning, there was only a marginal decline of 6,634 residents from 1870-1880 (Memphis Facts, 2008). A stabilizing population, leadership, community investment, and prime transportation and distribution location enabled economic stability to follow. Emergence of the Southern Railroad, the Cotton Exchange and cotton gin, economic opportunities and growing prosperity catapulted Memphis from a restoration phase of recovery to a "better than before the epidemic" condition.

Community resilience was not solely dependent on internal characteristics of place; the scale of these epidemics required considerable external resources. Doctors, nurses, priests, nuns, brothers, sisters and friends all volunteered to look after the neighbors throughout the course of the epidemic. The volunteer effort that contributed to the city's restoration and recovery was one of the most dynamic in the south (The West Tennessee Catholic Press, 2003).

The duration of the epidemic was daunting and certainly influenced the expression of resilience we characterize in hindsight. However, many elements of resilience expressed in Memphis are consistent with those identified in other places (Vale and Campanello, 2005). The community pulling together and refusing to abandon Memphis seems critical and obvious, but combining that with leadership and opportunities in a way that is relevant was key to Memphis' existence today.

The magnitude of the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1855 - 1879 was large enough to dissolve the city charter and predict the permanent demise of the city. A core group of Memphians neither debated nor accepted this prediction - they maintained and indeed enhanced their community. Memphians made Memphis resilient.  These observations underscore the characteristics and actions of resilient places identified by community members at the February 2008 Resilience Summit and further reveal roots of resilience in the MUA today.
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Gulfport, Mississippi

The CARRI-Gulfport Advisory Group has selected six focus areas for enhancing future resilience and has agreed on a phased approach to develop resilience road maps for each of the six areas.  The focus areas are: 1) communication and collaboration across all sectors; 2) individual and family resilience and preparedness; 3) affordable housing; 4) expediting return of businesses; 5) preserving the fabric, culture, and history of the community;  and 6) mental health.  

The Gulfport Advisory Group agreed to hold an initial workshop sometime in September to begin the development of roadmaps for each of the first three focus areas.  The three teams that will work on these areas during the workshop will continue to meet periodically to complete the roadmaps by the end of this calendar year.  Once the first three roadmaps are completed, the Gulfport Advisory Group expects to convene a second workshop early in 2009 to begin work on the remaining three focus areas.  

Resilience road maps will suggest concrete, definable actions or initiatives to enhance Gulfport's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from future disasters, while adding value to the community in the present.  Development of the road maps will consider economic, social, environmental, governance, leadership and knowledge dimensions of each focus area.