Epidemic at Grosse Île
Grosse Île, Henry Hugh Manvers Percy. Library and Archives Canada, 1939-399-54
1847
Converted into a quarantine station for incoming immigrants in 1832, the tiny island of Grosse Île became the centre of a devastating typhus epidemic in 1847. Tens of thousands of people fleeing the Irish potato famine on overcrowded and unsanitary ships arrived at Grosse Île in shocking condition. Over 5,000 people were buried at sea, while the graves of 5,424 others on the island stand as a sombre reminder of that tragic year. The quarantine station closed in 1937 and Grosse Île is now a national historic site.
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