Woodward High School - Treasures Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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Medicine in Cincinnati in I83l INCINNATI, from 1829 to 1833, was an afflicted city. Flood, fire, famine, and the dreaded cholera swept the city from end to end. Flood, fire, and famine all called for a knowledge of medicine, but cholera was the major enemy of the doctors of 1831. There were eight hundred and thirteen deaths resulting from cholera. Besides the above mentioned disasters, the doctors had to fight diseases which were caused by impure water coming through wooden pipes. In a directory of Cincinnati, the directory of 1881, there appeared the names of forty-seven physicians who were members of the Medical Society. As membership in this society was required if one wished to practice medicine, the list should have been a representative one, yet we hear of only about a dozen of the doctors on the list who practiced in 1831. In a directory of 1836, twenty-one of the names in the directory of 1831 reappear. Cincinnatits first hospital was authorized on January 22, 1821, by an act of Legislature. It was established through the efforts of Dr. Drake, as was the first medical school of Cincinnati. The hospital was called the Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum for the State of Ohio, and it was erected in 1823. The site was a four-acre lot bounded on the east by the Miami Canal and within one mile of the Ohio River. The hospital site cost the township $4,000. The main building was of brick, and it had a fifty-three foot front. It was forty-two feet deep and four stories high,inc1uding the basement. There was an operating theater With seats for one hundred spectators. The building cost $10,000 in depreciated bank paper, estimated to be worth about $3,500 at that time. In January, 1820, the Medical College of Ohio was established. The faculty con- sisted of Dr. Drake, Dr. Jesse Smith, and Dr. Benjamin Bohrei'. Dr. Drake was president of the faculty and professor of the theory and practice of medicine. The government of the institution made professors trustees. This policy was a great mistake, because a majority of the faculty could turn out the others and elect whom they pleased. At this time there was a great amount of jealousy among the doctors and professors, which caused many quarrels. In the sessions of the Legislature, 1822-1823, the charter of the college was amended, and a new board of trustees was appointed with General Harrison at its head. The power of appointment and of dismissal of members of the faculty was placed in this board. Finally the dissension among the doctors became so great that a medical war divided the town into two parties, and in 1884 a petition was sent to the Legislature for reorganization of the institution. The petition was signed by a number of leading physicians. As an outgrowth of this movement for reform, a medical de- partment was established at the Cincinnati College. Many medical journals were published in Cincinnati between 1819 and 1832. An early journal was The Western Quarterly Reportev-y edited by Dr. John B. God- man. Other medical publications were The Ohio Medical Repository, The Western M edical and Physical Journal, and The Western M edical Gazette. To-day Cincinnati has some of the finest hospitals in the country, and its excel- lent medical school provides for the City many doctors who have made Cincinnati a notable health center among cities of the United States. CALVIN WARNER, t31. Fouriemz

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were packed in four months. For a long time, the slaughter houses were chiefly in the valley of Deer Creek, and the packing-houses were spread over the entire city. Later, however, both slaughter and packing-houses were removed to the Mill Creek Valley where they are now located. We know that Cincinnati is today one of the largest industrial cities in America. In 1831, when the West was just being developed. Cincinnati industries were very important and helped to give our city the name, Queen City Of the WBStf, a title which she still proudly bears. MARIE LIND, '31. The City Government in l83l HE government of the city of Cincinnati in 1831 operated under its second city charter, granted by the act of the General Assembly of January 26, 1827. It was not such a government as we have now, but very much simpler, though adequate to the needs of the period and the size of the city. The City Council was the main governing body of the city. It consisted of trustees, three from each of the five city wards. The trustees, elected by the people, were men who had lived in the city for at least three years, and who had been freeholders or householders for a year. The Council could pass ordinances concerning the health of the city, fire companies, the night watch, erection of wooden buildings, licenses for ale-houses, taverns, etc., appropriations for expenses, and taxes. The tax was one-fifth of one per cent of the total value of taxable prop- erty in the city. Every white male over twenty-one years of age could vote, regardless of property qualifications. The mayor was elected by the people for a twoayear term. His duties included participation in the dispensing of justice in the City Court, of which he was a member, and the holding of the office of J ustice of the Peace. Associated with him in the court were three Aldermen, also elected by the people. Other court officials were the Clerk and the Prosecutor, both appointed by the Mayor and Aldermen. The other officials of the city were the Marshal, the Inspector of Flour, Inspectors of Whiskey, and the Collector of Canal Tolls. The Fire Department of the city was composed of six companies. Thirteen engines and several hose reels formed their Equipment. They proved inadequate to cope with large fires, but at that time the Council would not provide new equip- ment for them. The engines were manned by volunteers. The Cincinnati Fire Association was one of the organizations formed by the volunteers. Its purpose was to regulate the Fire Department, to settle disputes over fire losses, and to provide for sick or disabled members. A feature of this association was the parade of the fire companies on the first Thursday Of May, each year. There was no Police Department, but some protection was given by the City Night Watch, which consisted of not more than twenty men appointed by the Marshal. These men met in a building purchased for them in the center of the city, and made their rounds each night. Such was the situation in Cincinnati, in 1831, when William Woodward opened the doors of the first Woodward school building. LAN WONG, t31. Thirlmz

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Elements of Population in Cincinnati of l83l HE people who first settled in Cincinnati were from other states. There were representatives here from every state in the Union. Foreigners, too, came to Cincinnati and settled, so that not only every state in the Union, but almost every part of the globe was represented here. In 1831, more than half of the population in Cincinnati were foreign born. Of these, by far the greatest number were Germans. They flocked to Cincinnati by hundreds. In 1831, they formed twenty-eight per cent of the population. The Irish formed the next largest group. Their number was estimated to be 13,831. They lived, for the most part, along the river. The English constituted about sixteen per cent of the population, and the French and Italians, one per cent each. Besides these, there were Dutch, Polish, West Indians, Nova Scotians, Danes, Belgians, Mexicans, Russians, Norwegians, Scotch, Welsh, Spaniards, Greeks, Africans, Turks, Portuguese, Swiss, and Australians. There were also many people whose nationality was not known. Their place of birth was listed as ttunknown or uat sea. Each nationality settled in a little group, keeping its own traditions, ideals, cus- toms, and in some instances, its language. Cincinnati was a very cosmopolitan city, a characteristic which she retains to-day. ELLEN HENSLEY ,31 , . Social Life and Customs of Cincinnati in I83I IONEER Cincinnatians realized that they must toil for the prosperity of their rapidly growing city. In spite of the hustle and bustle for wealth and progress generated by their labor, there was even then real society. It was not, however, an elaborate society with great conventionality; although not as polished as European and Southern aristocracy, it was wholesome, prosperous, and intelligent. In this period there were many clubs, one of the most distinguished of which was the Buckeye Club. This club held social and literary meetings in the parlor of Dr. Drakes home on Vine Street. The members discussed certain specified topics and commented on events of the day. Another popular literary society was the Semi-Colon Club. This curious name has no connection with the punctuation mark. It had been worked out on the theory that he who provides a new pleasure is entitled to half the praise accorded to the discoverer of a new continent. Therefore this club, a center of intellectual and social enjoyment, deserved half the praise of Colon tColumbusi, the discoverer of America. Literary and musical contributions were made by this society. Harriet Beecher Stowe later collected her papers under the title of Mayflower and dedi- cated them to the club. Visitors to the city were frequent guests. The club existed and fiourished until the panic of eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, during which period many of the members suffered losses. Besides these high-brow critical societies, there were also clubs to promote interest in sportsmanship. One of the best-known was the Cincinnati Shooting Club, established in eighteen hundred and thirty-one, which gave frequent dinners supplied with game killed by the members. At the dinners, they probably announced the scores attained by the hunters who had been proved the best marksmen. At the social and club gatherings Mrs. Trollope's Bazaar was the subject of many a conversation. This bazaar was housed in a unique building of brick with Gothic tContinued on page 1251 Fifteen