A Philadelphia Story. Lori Litchman
of Medical Oddities
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED what Einstein’s brain was like? Well, you can see for yourself—literally—at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Surgeon Thomas Dent Mütter donated 1,700 objects and $30,000 to the college. His mission was to reform medical education, and he made the college promise to “hire a curator, maintain and expand the collection, fund annual lectures, and erect a fireproof building.”
The museum’s first location was at 13th and Locust Streets and opened in 1863. Today, the museum is located at 19 S. 22nd St. and houses more than 25,000 objects. Some of the things you can see at the Mütter Museum include slides of Albert Einstein’s brain, more than 5,500 historical medical instruments, hundreds of bones, and numerous body parts floating in jars.
After the Revolutionary War, Rush added courses to his teaching load to include the practice of medicine. He was a beloved teacher, and by the end of his career, he had taught more than 3,000 medical students. He worked as a senior doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital for 30 years, and during that time, he instituted reforms for treatment of the mentally ill. He believed in treating patients with mental illness as human beings, and he abolished cruel practices and procedures that were established medicine. He published the first psychiatry textbook in America, Medical Inquiries and Observations Upon the Diseases of the Mind, in 1812, the year before he died of typhus fever. Rush was harshly criticized, however, for his treatment of yellow-fever patients during the epidemic Philadelphia experienced in 1793.
Fever Falls on Philadelphia
ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTATING BLOWS to Philadelphia’s prosperity came in 1793 by way of a yellow-fever epidemic. At this point in time, Philadelphia was still the capital of both the state of Pennsylvania and the growing nation. The epidemic grew from a few cases of the infection along the Delaware waterfront and spread rapidly throughout the city. The population of the city was approximately 55,000, and everyone was terrified of the sickness. At the time, no one knew the cause of the disease or how it was spread. Panic set in, and tens of thousands of Philadelphians fled the city at the urging of Rush. Controversy arose about the suspected origin, with one camp (including Rush) convinced that the fever was born in Philadelphia, while the other side believed it came from foreigners entering the city. Rush was adamant that the sickness was due to the unsanitary conditions of the city, particularly the contamination of water from sewage and rotting food and coffee on the docks. One particularly disgusting part of the city was the area around today’s Dock Street. Back then, Dock Creek flowed freely and became a dumping ground for waste from breweries, tanneries, and households.
The College of Physicians convened to discuss the matter and how best to treat people. Controversy arose about how to treat afflicted patients, with Rush adamant that bloodletting was the best way to purge the fever. He had a few supporters who agreed with his methods, but most medical professionals vehemently disagreed. The College of Physicians ultimately believed that the fever was contagious and originated overseas, in stark contrast to Rush’s beliefs. Rush fell ill with yellow fever in September and followed his own treatment, recovering completely from the sickness. He was eventually forced to resign from the College of Physicians, and some even suggested that criminal charges be filed against him.
Dr. Philip Syng Physick, “Father of American Surgery”
(Photo: Wmpearl via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
During this time, one of Rush’s friends and colleagues, Dr. Philip Syng Physick, was helping treat yellow-fever victims. Physick himself came down with the illness and credited Rush’s bloodletting treatment with his recovery. Physick studied medicine in Europe, where he learned the art of surgery. After the epidemic, Rush repaid Physick’s support by referring surgical patients to his friend. Physick began seeing surgical patients in his private practice, and then joined Pennsylvania Hospital in 1794. He also became the first professor of surgery at Penn’s medical school. He is widely considered the “Father of American Surgery,” and his home in the Society Hill section of the city is now a museum.
We now know that yellow fever is a virus that is spread by mosquitoes, and epidemiologists believe it originated in Africa. There is no cure, but there is a preventive vaccine. Historians estimate the death toll from the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 to be about 5,000. The virus and subsequent flight of Philadelphians had a crippling effect on the growth of the formerly burgeoning city. In fact, some historians cite the yellow-fever epidemic as one of the key events that allowed New York City to gain an edge over Philadelphia as the country was still developing. One positive development after the end of the health crisis was the city’s creation of a Board of Health in 1794. The board oversaw health issues in the city for about 10 years before the city created a formal department of health in 1804, called the Department of Public Health and Charities.
Water, Water Everywhere
THE YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC OF 1793 also was the impetus for the city to clean up its water supply. Raw sewage was regularly discarded near drinking wells, and people suspected that these unsanitary conditions caused yellow fever. Another yellow-fever outbreak in 1798 hastened the public’s outcry for clean water. Citizens petitioned the city to figure out a way to clean up the city’s water supply, and by 1799, the city had formed a Watering Committee to address the issue. Adding another notch on its belt of firsts, Philadelphia became the first major city in the country and the world to take on the responsibility of supplying clean water to its populace.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, considered to be one of the fathers of American architecture, happened to be in Philly during this time working on the building of the Bank of Philadelphia. The city asked Latrobe for his advice, and he said the best solution would be to tap the abundant water supply from the Schuylkill River and find a way to distribute the water to the city. He recommended the use of steam engines to power the system, even though the technology wasn’t widely used at this time. His plan called for the building of two separate structures for the engines. The first building would be on Chestnut Street and would funnel the water through a tunnel to Broad Street, where the second structure, a pump house, would move the water to a reservoir at the top of the building. This structure was to be located at Centre Square, where City Hall sits today. The water would then use the force of gravity to find its way through hollowed-out logs to water subscribers. The Watering Committee loved the plan and gave Latrobe the contract to build the structure, which opened for business in January 1801.
Benjamin Henry Latrobe, a father of American architecture
(Painting by Charles Willson Peale; via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
The new water-supply system was a success, but it couldn’t keep up with the demand in the growing city. It was also very costly to maintain and had its share of technical difficulties. Yellow fever reared its head again in the early 1800s, and the Watering Committee again looked for a solution to its water crisis. One of Latrobe’s assistants, Frederick Graff, became the central figure in the construction of a new facility. Graff suggested that the new facility be located at “Faire Mount,” the highest point in the city at the time. Graff was the superintendent of the waterworks at Centre Square and was greatly influenced by Latrobe’s design there. Built in the Classical Revival style, the Fairmount Water Works opened for business in 1815. Not only was it ahead of its time in providing clean water to the population, but it was also an architectural marvel that became a popular tourist attraction. No trip to Philadelphia was complete without a visit there.
The Fairmount Water Works (shown here facing southeast, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the background) was an industrial and architectural marvel of its day.
(Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service; via Wikimedia Commons, public domain)