Pestilence House
The Mackinaw Historical Society Heritage Village consists of a
variety of historic structures from about 1880 through 1917. This
was a period of dramatic changes in transportation, communication,
housing, health care, and nearly every other aspect of life. The
last existing Pestilence House in Michigan is part of the village. A
Pestilence House is a quarantine facility that was found in nearly
every Michigan community around 1900. This example was built in the
1890s, and was rediscovered in 2004. It had been used as a machine
shop, but had been abandoned.
Pest Houses could be found in almost every small Michigan town. In those years, smallpox was a real danger, along with diphtheria and cholera. This was an era when germs and viruses were poorly understood. The local doctor might also be the barber and bleeding was still used as a treatment. Quarantine was the most used procedure to stop the spread of contagious diseases. No one yet realized how important something as basic as clean hands was. Hand washing would have been a complex undertaking. There was no running water. It had to be hauled to the Pest House in buckets. In winter, the water had to be warmed, on a wood burning stove. Patients of all ages and genders were housed in the same building. The different areas may have been separated by nothing more than cloth curtains. Infected persons remained inside until they were better. One in three individuals didn't survive.
Advances in medical treatment made Pestilence Houses obsolete. Pest Houses that weren't re-purposed deteriorated and fell apart, or were dismantled and destroyed. This is the only intact Michigan example I have found. It has been faithfully restored. The village covers about 140 acres with lots of unique and one-of-a-kind buildings. One example is the the bone room, a small kiosk with hands on displays that will fascinate kids of all ages.