COVID-19 is not the first virus to drastically change life in Peoria. A century ago, the Spanish Flu spread across the city and the community reacted surprisingly similar to today.
Chris Farris, reference assistant at the Peoria Public Library's Local History and Genealogy Room, has been sifting through newspaper coverage 1918 Spanish Flu and sharing his findings on the popular Local History Collection Facebook page.
"Some have argued that there aren't parallels, because it was a different type of illness and it's not behaving in the same manner, and that's true,” he said. “However, I do believe from my research that the people of Peoria behaved in a similar manner to how we're behaving today."
Once the Spanish Flu arrived in Peoria, Farris said, it took just weeks for the number of cases to grow exponentially.
“It started out as something they knew was happening around them in the greater United States and world and it wasn’t as big of a concern, until it was a concern, if you know what I mean,” he said. “It kind of hit them quickly.”
Farris said that could be in part due to a massive rally Peorians held in support of World War I in late September 1918. Around 25,000 people gathered to march to the Colosseum, a public gathering place equivalent to the Civic Center today.
“A few days after, that’s when the cases started to spike,” he said. “Now, is there a correlation? I can’t say for a fact, but I do believe it had to have been the case, with how community spread works.”
By the first week of October, Farris said, there were over 1,000 cases. Hospitals were overflowing with ill patients, similarly to what health officials thought could happen with COVID-19.
A document from the Illinois Department of Health shows Peoria wound up with 7,260 cases of the Spanish Flu — around 10 percent of the population at the time. Farris said 322 people died of the influenza. Another 268 died from pneumonia, a major complication of the infection.
But Farris said it could have ended a lot worse.
"Peoria's experience and numbers were moderate compared to other cities in Illinois,” he said. “The newspaper accounts from the time attribute Peoria's lower rate to the quick action of the health commissioner, Dr. George Parker."
Farris said Parker emerged as the hero in Peoria’s Spanish Flu mitigation effort. Parker made the then-unpopular move to close public spaces like churches, theatres and schools, arguing that lives were too valuable to risk.
Travel by streetcar — the most popular mode of transportation at time — was discouraged unless necessary, Farris said. Parker also opened three emergency hospitals to handle the influx of cases.
Farris said the biggest difference between the 1918 Spanish Flu and the COVID-19 pandemic may be who was responsible for handling it. A century ago, it was local officials like Dr. George Parker. Now, it’s governors and state health officials.
Another big difference was the medical advice of the time. Farris said health recommendations included keeping your feet dry and warm and leaving windows open to avoid contracting the virus.
For more on Peoria’s history handling the 1918 Spanish Flu, visit the Local History Collection’s Facebook page.
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