Typhoid Epidemic of 1899

On November 15, 1899, Linda Tom, a freshman at The State Normal and Industrial College, passed away.  For the past several weeks, she had complained of having a fever, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and general pain in her abdomen. Doctor Anna Gove, the resident physician at the College, would determine that Linda’s death was the result of typhoid fever.  Typhoid fever, according to WedMD, is “an acute illness associated with fever caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria” which is spread through ingesting contaminated food or water. 

Unfortunately Linda’s death would not be an isolated incident.  Over the next two months, thirteen other students as well as one dormitory matron, would die from the illness.  In addition, over 55 other students would be diagnosed with typhoid fever but would be fortunate enough to recover.  To put some perspective on the severity of the situation, thirteen students was roughly equal to 3% of the student population in 1899.  If 3% of the approximately 18,000 students at UNCG today were to pass away, the number would total around 540 deaths. 

College President Charles D. McIver  and other administrators, struggled mightily to contain the virus and to ensure the continuation of the school. However, in 1899 there was no simple cure for the illness.  The only methods for treating patients and reducing the spread of the virus was to quarantine the sick, disinfect surrounding surfaces, and to provide comforting relief efforts.  One of McIver’s first steps was to close down the school until he felt the disease has been eradicated from the campus.  He then authorized the cleansing of the Brick Dormitory and surrounding buildings to prevent future outbreaks.  This included discarding all of the beds with wooden head and food boards, as well as all mattresses. In addition, all of the woodwork and walls were disinfected using harsh chemical products such as formaldehyde which left a lingering odor.

The financial cost of containing the disease was expensive with repairs and replacements totaling above $8,000.   A recently received $5000 grant from the North Carolina State General Assembly that was supposed to be used to build a much needed new gymnasium was divert to help cover expenses.  As a result, the College went into debt and did not fully recover financially until 1908.

An investigation into what caused the massive outbreak was conducted by the North Carolina Board of Health.  The lead investigator, Dr. Richard H. Lewis, concluded that a central water well located near the Brick Dormitory had become contaminated when sewage leaked into the water from a fractured sewer pipe. As a result of these findings, all three of the water wells on campus were filled in and the College was connected to the City of Greensboro water supply.

 In the United States today, there is very little concern about typhoid fever because of the increase in sanitation standards.  In addition, the treatment for the illness is antibiotics, which can quickly contain the fever and help prevent death. 

McIver Statue Centennial, 1912-2012

Charles Duncan McIver, ca. 1895

Charles Duncan McIver was born on September 27, 1860, to Henry McIver and Sarah “Sallie” Harrington McIver in Moore County, North Carolina.

He entered the University of North Carolina (UNC) in Chapel Hill in 1877 and graduated in 1881.  After graduating from UNC, he accepted the assistant headmaster position at the Presbyterian Male Academy in Durham, North Carolina.  McIver was elected principal of the newly established graded high school in Durham in 1882.  After two years, he resigned his position in Durham for a teaching position at the Winston Graded School in Winston, North Carolina, where he met his future wife, Lula Martin.  They were married on July 29, 1885 and had four children.
   
McIver accepted the position of head of the literary department at Peace Institute, a girl’s school in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1886.   While in Raleigh, he lobbied for a normal or teacher training school for women.
   
In 1889, he and Edwin A. Alderman were chosen by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to conduct a series of teacher institutes to instruct teachers and enlighten the public about the need for a normal school in North Carolina.
   
With an annual salary of $2,500.00, McIver was appointed the first president of the newly established State Normal and Industrial School in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1891.
   

The McIver Statue in front of the
McIver Memorial Building,ca. 1956

Unfortunately, he died on September 17, 1906, at the age of 45; however, he did see his dream of founding a college to educate women in North Carolina realized – that institution is now known as The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Shortly after McIver’s death, a committee was appointed by Governor Robert Glenn to raise funds to erect a statue in McIver’s memory.  Two bronze eight-foot statues of McIver was sculpted by French-born American artist Frederick W. Ruckstuhl in Paris, France, and cast by the Fonderie Nationale des Bronzes in Brussels, Belgium. The original statue costing $7,000 and was erected on the State Capitol grounds in Raleigh, North Carolina, and dedicated on May 15, 1912.  A duplicated statue costing $1,100 and was erected on the campus of the State Normal and Industrial College now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  The statue was dedicated on Founders Day, October 5, 1912, and stood in front of the McIver Memorial Building.

The McIver Statue after restoration, 1990/91

After the McIver Memorial Building was razed in 1958 and the current McIver Building erected in 1960, the statue was relocated to the area in front of Jackson Library, a more central location on campus.  Starting in the late 1950s, students began to paint and decorate the statue, so by the 1980s, the statue was in disrepair due to the weather and being periodically cleaned with cleaning solutions.

In November 1990, the statue was shipped to Karkadoulias Bronze Art, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, to be cleaned and restored.  After the restoration, which totaled $7,500, the statue was returned to campus on May 10, 1991 in time for the university's centennial celebration.
   
Since its dedication 100 years ago, the McIver Statue has been and continues to be one of the most recognizable images on campus.

Starting Classes at State Normal

The institution now known as The University of North Carolina at Greensboro was originally chartered by the State of North Carolina in February 1891. The school was founded to train female teachers and instruct them in “drawing, telegraphy, type-writing, stenography, and such other industrial arts as may be suitable to their sex and conducive to their support and usefulness.” Leading the charge in the establishment and development of the school was Charles Duncan McIver, a staunch advocate for public schools, teacher education, and higher education for women. After the state legislature approved funding, McIver was named the first president of what would be called the State Normal.

View of the State Normal campus from Spring Garden Street, 1894

Four North Carolina communities put forth offers to be the home for the new school: Durham, Graham, Thomasville, and Greensboro. Ultimately, Greensboro won due to its relatively central location and the convergence of railroad lines from six directions. After a year spent planning the new school and constructing its facilities, the State Normal officially opened its doors for an initial class of 198 female students from across North Carolina on October 5, 1892.

Classes offered at the State Normal were divided into three departments: normal (teaching), business, and domestic science. The normal, listed as the leading department, included pedagogy classes as well as coursework in English, history, math, science, foreign language, art, music, and physical culture. This department also served as the academic home for McIver. In addition to serving as President of the school, he taught courses in pedagogy, education, and civics – courses that maybe went on a bit longer than anticipated. A memoir written by a staff member noted that “both in class and in chapel, he kept the students after the appointed hour so frequently that faculty members tried to avoid having their own classes scheduled in the following periods.”

President Charles Duncan McIver and the State Normal faculty, 1893

The standard course load for these new students included 22 to 27 class meetings per week, divided among six or eight individual courses. Study time was curtailed by the dormitory lights-out rule from 10 pm to 6 am, designed to ensure that students got adequate sleep. Every freshman regardless of major took the same eight courses in algebra, English, general and English history, Latin, physical geography and botany, drawing, vocal music, and physical culture, except that domestic science students substituted sewing for drawing.

Founding the State Normal proved to be a milestone in education – and particularly women’s education – in North Carolina and throughout the United States. McIver and the early educators and students at the State Normal set the groundwork for UNCG as it stands today. One hundred twenty years after the first classes took place, the legacy remains.