Places to Visit Related to Health 1753-1799

Today you can visit many places associated with the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic and its era. Below are listed a few of special interest.

Center City:

College of Physicians/Mutter Museum
19 South 22nd Street (between Market and Chestnut Streets)
(215) 563-3737
www.collphyphil.org/muttpg1.shtml
Visit the Mutter Museum and explore their collection of bones. Among the collections of the college are many medical documents and papers of historically prominent Philadelphia physicians. Among the exhibits at the Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the visitor will find the college's unique collection of preserved anatomical and pathological specimens, as well as medical illustrations and the memorabilia of famous scientists and physicians. The College Gallery, directly adjacent to the museum, offers special exhibits on medical history and current issues in medicine and health.

Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
19 South 22nd Street (between Market and Chestnut streets)
(215) 563-3737 ext. 293
The medicinal plant garden of the renowned early American physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, is located in the heart of Center City at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Well known for his work during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, Dr. Rush was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence and intimate friend of the nation's second president, John Adams.

Old City:

Pennsylvania Hospital
Eighth and Spruce streets
(215) 829-3270
www.pahosp.com
Founded in 1752, Pennsylvania Hospital was the nation's first hospital. The original building on Pine Street, which is open to the public, is also one of the city's finest examples of Colonial and Federal period architecture. Brochures for self-guided walking tours are available at the welcome desk located at the main entrance on Eighth Street.

Library:
www.uphs.upenn.edu/paharc/collections/library.html

Surgical Amphitheater:
www.uphs.upenn.edu/paharc/tour/tour5.html

Painting:
Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple
Benjamin West, 1811
Main Entrance of Pennsylvania Hospital

Painting:
Portrait of Benjamin Rush
Thomas Scully, 1813
Pennsylvania Hospital Historical Library

Washington Square
Walnut Street between Sixth and Seventh Streets
In 1706, Southeast Square, located on Walnut Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, was established as a "Potter's Field," a place bury "strangers" and those not laid to rest by any religious society. Many victims of the devastating yellow fever outbreak of 1793 were also buried here. The location is now known as Washington Square.

Bishop White House
309 Walnut Street
www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_bishop.htm
Bishop William White, rector of Christ and St. Peter's churches, was the chaplain to the Second Constitutional Congress and the United States Senate. He was also the first consecrated bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. Bishop White is remembered for his charitable work and ministering to the sick in the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. The elegant furnishings of the house suggest the elite social status of Bishop White and his family. The house is also said to have contained the first flush toilet in the Philadelphia.

Dr. Philip Syng Physick House
321 South 4th Street
(215) 627-0364
www.ushistory.org/tour/tour_physick.htm
Wine importer Henry Hill built this imposing four-story brick house in 1786. In 1815, it became the residence of Dr. Philip Syng Physick. He lived in the house until his death in 1837. Physick, one of the most respected physicians of his time, became known as the "Father of American Surgery." He was among the courageous doctors who remained in the city to care for yellow fever victims in 1793.

Southwest Philadelphia:

Bartram's Garden
54th and Lindbergh Blvd
(215) 729-5281
www.bartramsgarden.org
Visitors explore the home and herb garden of colonial botanist John Bartram. Bartram used the garden for making medicines, potions, salves, and teas. Visitors see his grape arbor, seed house, barn, cider press, and the house itself, which is filled with books on herbs.

Montgomery County:

Graeme Park
859 County Line Road
Horsham, Pennsylvania 19044
(215) 343-0965
www.ushistory.org/graeme/
Graeme Park, a 44-acre historic park, features the Keith House, the only surviving residence of a Colonial Pennsylvania governor. Before becoming the governor's residence, the house was the home of Dr. Thomas Graeme, who arrived in Pennsylvania