Typhoid Fears Reach Tacoma’s Water Supply
A fatality linked to the Clover Creek watershed raises alarms about the city's drinking water quality.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Persistent investigation has established that typhoid fever exists near the source of the Tacoma water supply. Dr. Stewart, surgeon for the Columbia Improvement Company at Electron, reports a case from the neighborhood of Brookland, which is close to Clover Creek. The patient was sent to the Fannie Paddock Hospital in this city, where he died. Examination of hospital records from September to date reveals the case of John Moen, who was sent by the Columbia Improvement Company on December 8 and passed away December 31. In the opinion of physicians, even a single case near the source of Clover Creek could contaminate the water supply. Although local residents deny the report, medical professionals maintain that active cases of typhoid remain in the vicinity of the creek.
“In the opinion of physicians, one case near the source of Clover Creek could contaminate the water.”
Public health concerns regarding water purity were a defining feature of Tacoma's rapid early growth. This report highlights the constant tension between industrial expansion and the basic civic necessity of clean water—a struggle that predates our modern water treatment infrastructure.
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