Division of Disease Control and Health Protection

On July 28, 1888, a Tampa businessman checked in the Grand Union Hotel in Jacksonville. The man felt ill…his diagnosis was yellow fever. The words " yellow fever" struck fear in the hearts of the business leaders as an epidemic could mean bankruptcy. "By August 8, four more cases were discovered and under cover of darkness were secretly moved to the St. Luke's and Sand Hills Hospitals. Despite attempts to prevent word of the impending epidemic from reaching the public, a full-fledged panic soon developed." (Gold)

Within two weeks Jacksonville was like a city under siege. A mass exodus via drays, carriages, wagons, steamers, trains, horses and even on foot clogged every road, rail path and waterway out of the city. Food became scarce, stores were boarded up, hotels closed, social activities ceased and even mail deliveries discontinued for a time. A "Cordon Sanitaire" was established around the city with men on foot and horseback, armed with rifles and carrying yellow flags, preventing anyone from leaving or entering with out special passes. Even Francis P. Fleming, a gubernatorial candidate, was prevented from campaigning in Jacksonville at that time because of the quarantine. Eventually all mail was fumigated and in an attempt to control the epidemic, lime was spread in the streets, houses and shops. Bonfires lit the sky at night and cannon and firearms were discharged each evening.

Nearly 10,000 people were evacuated from Jacksonville during the yellow fever epidemic of 1888. Since a quarantine was declared against the city by almost the entire United States, fleeing inhabitants had great difficulty finding refuge. Several refugee camps were established outside the city for people wishing to leave. The U.S. provided $200,000 for relief efforts and the Red Cross sent experienced nurses to manage cases and provide other essential support services. As a coincidence, Joseph Yates Porter, M.D., a medical officer with the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, had just played a major role in quelling an epidemic of yellow fever that swept like wildfire from a barracks on an army reservation into the City of Key West during 1887. The control measures he used included turning unoccupied buildings on the reservation into emergency hospitals and employing individuals who had previously recovered from the disease and were therefore immune to provide essential nursing services. Because of this valuable experience, he was asked to come to Jacksonville from Key West and take command of the situation. Before the epidemic was brought under control shortly after the first hard freeze in mid December of that year, about 5,000 persons who remained in Jacksonville contracted the fever and more than 400 died. (Tebeau)

"The trying times brought to light many heroes and heroines." (Gold) The Jacksonville Auxiliary Sanitary Association, formed to assist with controlling the epidemic, was staffed by prominent physicians and leading citizens. Lewis I. Fleming, a Jacksonville attorney (brother of Francis P. Fleming , who was elected Governor that year), along with several other members of this Association were honored by the 1889 state legislature because they "died the death of heroes, patriots and Christian gentlemen, while bravely....fighting courageously the battle of humanity." (Gold) In addition, several women representing St. Mary’s Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital and the Orphanage and Home of the Friendless and the Surgeon General of the U.S. Marine Hospital Service made extremely valuable contributions.

In recognition of his services to the City of Jacksonville during the epidemic, Dr. Porter was presented an elaborate gold Swiss watch and chain encrusted with rubies and diamonds. The inscription inside read "Presented to Joseph Y. Porter, M.D., Surgeon-in Charge, United States Government Relief Measures, by the Jacksonville Auxiliary Sanitary Association in recognition of valuable services to the citizens of Jacksonville, Florida, during the yellow fever epidemic of 1888."

In January 1889, Governor Fleming, as his first official act, called a special session of the legislature which approved a bill on February 20, 1889, that established a state board of health (SBH)." A three member health board appointed by the governor unanimously chose Dr. J. Y. Porter to be the state's first health officer. In his letter to the Governor, published in the first Annual Report of the State Board of Health in May 1890, the President of the Board, R. P. Daniels M.D. wrote:

"In making this selection, the Board realized that it was not only giving expression to its own preference, but was voicing the almost unanimous sentiment of the people of the state - that Dr. Porter was the one man best fitted, by the qualifications of capacity, experience and popularity, to fill the office."