Smallpox Once Ravaged Fayette County

Panicked by rumors of a new wave of smallpox in 1926, the editor of the Schulenburg Sticker asked County Judge Leuders and the county health officer, Dr. Knolle, to inspect. The Charles Nordhausen family was indeed found to be infected. They were quarantined and flags hung at their residence. The quarantine could last three or more weeks. During this time, household members could not leave the house, nor could anyone enter. Furthermore, mail could not be sent from the house.

Dr. Knolle stated it was the height of folly not to be vaccinated. The editor pleaded with readers:

If this disease is permitted to spread deaths will result, little children will be crippled for life, to prevent this we are trying to stop it before it gets started. We want the cooperation of all the good men and women of our section to stamp out this disease.

No wonder the editor was panicked and the doctor frustrated. The symptoms were horrendous—high fever, head and body aches, and sometimes vomiting. A rash followed that spread and morphed into raised bumps that crusted, scabbed, and fell off after about three weeks, leaving pitted areas. Death occurred in about thirty percent of the cases. Many survivors had permanent scars over large areas of their bodies, especially their faces. Some were left blind. No known cure existed.

The first vaccination was developed in 1796 when the English doctor Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids who had gotten cowpox were protected from smallpox. More experiments followed, and, in 1801, Jenner published “On the Origin of the Vaccine Inoculation.” In this work, he expressed hope that “the annihilation of the smallpox, the most dreadful scourge of the human species, must be the final result of this practice.” The vaccination received wide acceptance in the 1800s.

By 1891, it was clear to Texans that the vaccine was safe and effective and that mitigation measures such as quarantining worked. The La Grange newspaper ran an interview of an esteemed physician from San Antonio who reported the success of his city’s aggressive campaign against smallpox. School children were required to be immunized and, when a case was reported, the health authorities swooped in, putting residents in quarantine and posting a yellow flag at their house, warning others away.

In fact, in 1905, the Supreme Court ruled in Jacobson v. Massachusetts that the government had the right to mandate vaccination. Writing for the majority, Justice John Marshall Harlan, while acknowledging the importance of personal freedom, stated, “the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”

The Fayette County, Texas newspapers from the 1900s to the 1920s are rife with mention of the costs of the disease to area taxpayers. For instance, the 1900 La Grange newspaper, reporting on a Fayette County meeting, stated:

The following were referred to the town council of Fayetteville for allowance and pay as not chargable (sic) against Fayette County:

H.A. Hotmann, transferring small pox (sic) patient from Fayetteville to pest house.

C.T. Koch, the same as above.

Dr. B. Matthes, medical bill, etc.

Dr. J.A. Sauls, same as above.

During the early part of the twentieth century, the epidemic intermittently disrupted life. Travel between Fayette County and neighboring Colorado County was curtailed in 1924. In February 1926, Shiner ordered dances stopped until the “excitement” was over. Round Top canceled its old town dance in January 1927 because of the smallpox scare. High Hill, however, danced on.

In 1926, the Schulenburg newspaper had this to say about the vaccine:

“A number of our people have been vaccinated. This is a good idea and it is a positive preventative. At the same time (sic) it causes a lot of sore arms, some fever and other discomforts. Whether the situation is threatening enough or not we will leave to our readers.”

In fact, in 1926, the vaccination was responsible for keeping the boys on the Schulenburg track team from practicing for two weeks before their meet with Weimar. Despite the discomfort, area school children continued to be vaccinated by teams from the Austin Department of Health.

The ugly disease that plagued mankind for almost three thousand years last appeared in the United States in the Texas Rio Grande Valley in 1949. Routine vaccinations ceased in this country in 1972. After an aggressive worldwide vaccination campaign, the World Health Assembly officially declared the world free of smallpox in 1980.

Sources:

“Last U.S. Smallpox Outbreak Left Mental Scars on Witnesses” accessed August 8, 2021 at https://www.latimes.com/archives/laxpm-2001-dec-26-mn-18048-story.html.

Schulenburg Sticker, February 12, 1926.

Schulenburg Sticker, March 5, 1926.

Schulenburg Sticker, March 19, 1926.

Texas Department of Insurance, Smallpox Fact Sheet HS02- 046B (2-06).

“The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the History of Smallpox” accessed August 8, 2021 at https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html.

The La Grange Journal. January 22, 1891.

The La Grange Journal. June 21, 1900.

The La Grange Journal, March 5, 1924.

The La Grange Journal, January 27, 1927.

“When the Supreme Court Ruled a Vaccine Could Be Mandatory” accessed on August 8, 2021 at https://www.history.com/news/ smallpox-vaccine-supreme-court.

Footprints Of Fayette

Fayette County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. In this weekly feature from the County Historical Commission, a rotating group of writers looks back at local history.