Water Works
Episode 7: The Healthiest City
By the end of the epidemic, the United States had lost 0.6% of the population to the Spanish Flu, with around 675,000 deaths. Yet Milwaukee suffered a relatively low death rate. In 1918, Milwaukee was the thirteenth largest city in the US and one of the nation’s most densely populated cities. Perhaps Milwaukee’s response can account for some of this discrepancy; per capita, the city outspent 9 of the 12 most populous cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, on health and sanitation. In this episode, we explore the global impact of the epidemic and the personal experience of Wisconsinites whose families lived through it.
For more information about the show, including images and documents from 1918, check out https://milwaukeehistory.net/podcast/.
By the end of the epidemic, the United States had lost 0.6% of the population to the Spanish Flu, with around 675,000 deaths. Yet Milwaukee suffered a relatively low death rate. In 1918, Milwaukee was the thirteenth largest city in the US and one of the nation’s most densely populated cities. Perhaps Milwaukee’s response can account for some of this discrepancy; per capita, the city outspent 9 of the 12 most populous cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, on health and sanitation. In this episode, we explore the global impact of the epidemic and the personal experience of Wisconsinites whose families lived through it.
For more information about the show, including images and documents from 1918, check out https://milwaukeehistory.net/podcast/.