Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About

Disease

Virginia
"The Shot That Was Felt Around the World": McLean's Polio Pioneers

"The Shot That Was Felt Around the World": McLean's Polio Pioneers

10/21/2020 in Virginia by Arielle Gordon

April 26, 1954, wasn’t an ordinary day at work for Dr. Richard Mulvaney. As McLean, Virginia’s first general practitioner, he treated all types of patients, but he’d never dealt with a situation like the one that awaited him at Franklin Sherman Elementary School that morning.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
When D.C. Faced a Typhoid Epidemic

When D.C. Faced a Typhoid Epidemic

06/19/2019 in DC by Lori Wysong

Ever wondered what those giant concrete cylinders lined up along Michigan Avenue are? Well, if you lived in D.C. at the turn of the twentieth century, they  might have saved your life.  

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Virginia
Ebola Comes to Reston

Ebola Comes to Reston

02/13/2018 in Virginia by Laura Castro L…

On October 4, 1989, a primate quarantine unit in Reston received a shipment of 100 monkeys from a Philippine facility. By November, nearly one-third of the animals had died – a much higher percentage than normal – of mysterious causes. Dan Dalgard, the consulting veterinarian of the unit, was alarmed and contacted the US Army Medical Research Institute (USAMRIID). Dalgard talked to Peter Jahrling, a virologist at USAMRIID, who told him to send a few samples of the dead monkeys. Neither one of them was prepared for what they found. 

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
DC's TB Problem

DC's TB Problem

02/10/2015 in DC by Mark Jones

The American Experience film The Forgotten Plague details the impact of Tuberculosis on American society. TB was a problem everywhere. But, the disease hit few places as hard as it hit Washington, D.C. In fact, according to a 1934 report by the District Medical Society, only Memphis, San Antonio and New Orleans had higher death rates among large cities in the United States.

The stats were alarming. They were also somewhat surprising, at least according to some. As the DMS report noted, since D.C. “is less congested and the economic situation is better than in any other city in this country, we should have one of the lowest death rates.” However, the rate in the nation’s capital was “higher even than that of Baltimore, where congestion and the economic situation are notoriously unfavorable.” (Sorry, Baltimore, apparently you were the measuring stick for terrible public health in the 1930s.)

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

DC
A Five Star Malady

A Five Star Malady

09/11/2013 in DC by Claudia Swain

What better treat for a president-elect waiting to move into the White House than to stay in one of the swankiest hotels in the capital? Well, as it turns out, James Buchanan would have done better to have found less plush accomodations in the spring of 1857. He and hundreds of others fell victim to a mysterious ailment after staying at the luxurious National Hotel.

This sickness, because it came at the end of a harsh campaign against the victorious Buchanan, was thought by many to arise from a poison. Fingers were pointed at various political opponents; even the Spanish government in Cuba was blamed.

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (565)
  • Maryland (106)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

03/17/2023

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

03/10/2023

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

03/03/2023

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

Most Popular

Time Travel in the "Virgin Vault": Washington’s Women’s Boarding House

11/25/2022

Time Travel in the "Virgin Vault": Washington’s Women’s Boarding House

GALA Hispanic Theatre: Celebrating Latin American Culture in the Arts

07/12/2022

GALA Hispanic Theatre: Celebrating Latin American Culture in the Arts

Beyond the Invitation: Chief Plenty Coups and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

11/11/2022

Beyond the Invitation: Chief Plenty Coups and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines