December 28, 1848
The steamboat Amaranth arrived in St. Louis carrying cholera. The city was bulging with people waiting for Spring so they could head west in the 1849 Gold Rush. The cholera spread quickly and one out of every ten people in the city died.
This post was contributed by Ross Malone. A historian and a retired school teacher, Ross has authored many books about Missouri’s history, weird facts, and folk tales. He has also written children’s historical fiction. Visit his website, and buy his books in the Missouri Life store.
Missouri Life archive photo
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