The threat of communicable diseases is a part of today’s headlines. Over the last 300 years, Newport has had its share of frightening epidemics. Smallpox first appeared in 1647 and reappeared many times because of the town’s busy seaport. Yellow Fever was transmitted by visiting Quakers from Philadelphia in the 1790s and returning sailors introduced the Spanish Influenza in 1918. Historically, islands were often used to quarantine the sick. In 1716, a smallpox hospital was built on Coasters Harbor Island; the dead were buried “at the fort” on Goat Island beginning in 1739. In 1819, Founder’s Hall of the Naval War College was built as the Newport Alms House and Asylum for the ill and the indigent.
A 19th century print of the Newport Asylum, drawn by G. Wall and printed by Fenner, Sears, and Company. 2004.13.120, NHS collection.