Influenza Subject of Historical Program

A building constructed as a county courthouse in Klamath Falls saw temporary service as an influenza hospital in 1920. A program on influenza epidemics from a century ago will be presented Thursday at the Klamath County Museum. (Submitted Photo)

A worldwide influenza pandemic that claimed dozens of lives in Klamath and Lake counties a century ago will be the subject of a program that will be presented Thursday, May 24, at the monthly meeting of the Klamath County Historical Society.

The program begins at 7 p.m. in the back meeting room of the Klamath County Museum, 1451 Main St. Admission is free.

“Local officials took strong measures to stop the spread of the flu,” said museum manager Todd Kepple, who will present the program. “Many public places were closed for weeks, but the loss of life was still startling.”

An emergency hospital was established to isolate patients, and a local newspaper carried a daily report listing the names and addresses of people infected by the virus. A group of local women formed a committee to look after victims who had no relatives healthy enough to provide care.

Estimates of deaths from the 1918 influenza pandemic range from 20 to 50 million people or more than 2 percent of the entire human population. The death toll was estimated at more than 3,500 in Oregon alone, and at 500,000 across the United States.

Klamath Falls faced other outbreaks of sickness at various times, including 1920, when the community used the county courthouse as an emergency hospital.

For more information contact Historical Society President Dave Taylor at (541) 273-0953.

Press release provided from the Klamath County Museum.