Editing Jonesborough, Tennessee (section)

===Cholera pandemic, 1873===
During the summer of 1873, a [[1863-1875 cholera pandemic|cholera epidemic]] spread throughout the Mississippi River system, having originated in [[New Orleans]]. Part of the fourth cholera pandemic that started in India and spread west into Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean, it was believed to have been introduced to the Louisiana port by immigrants or other travelers. It spread to river towns visited by steamboats, and among neighboring settlements. None of the towns had adequate sanitation systems.<ref name="crutcher"/>

With a mortality rate of 40 to 60% and no understanding of how the disease was contracted, people dreaded an outbreak. (It was variously attributed to poor diet and miasma.) While residents of Jonesborough heard about cases in Knoxville and [[Greeneville, Tennessee|Greeneville]], which was about 24 miles away and hard hit, their first case was not seen until July 14.<ref name="crutcher"/> Mrs. A. C. Collins died after caring for two refugees from Greeneville, who recovered.<ref name="crutcher"/> The ''Herald & Tribune'' had already published a warning about cholera, and many people had left the town for what they thought were healthier locations. The newspaper did not publish again for weeks, as cholera spread rapidly in town.

Of the estimated 75 people left, 30 died by early August and another 30 contracted the disease but survived. Victims included publisher Col. George Gresham, who had devoted himself to caring for victims, and G.C. Thrasher, one of four ministers who also remained in the town during the crisis. The town received help and monies from other localities, and within a month, the disease had mostly run its course. Residents began to return to the depleted town, shaken by the disastrous month.<ref name="crutcher"/>