By November,1911,  just as the worst of the typhoid fever outbreak was abating, the small pox epidemic was growing. The “New York Times” ran an article saying that cases of smallpox were especially bad among people who worked in mills. The towns of Warwick and Coventry Rhode Island were mentioned. By early 1912, Willimantic citizens were beginning to be stricken in such numbers that in April, Mayor Dunn, along with city aldermen and the corporation counsel decided that Willimantic needed an isolation hospital.  Several locations for the hospital, including the Center Street Armory and an exhibition hall at the Fairgrounds were considered. Strong objections were made in regards to the Fairgrounds building which did not have the proper sanitary requirements. Objections to the Center Street Armory was that it was in a highly populated area. At that point, Alderman Ahern mentioned “ a large dwelling house on Pleasant Street at the west end. The alderman and the city health officer went to the house and ,”returned highly pleased with what they found”.  It contained fourteen rooms and the health officer, Doctor Keating felt that fifty to seventy-five people could be cared for at that location. The South Windham man who owned the building , John Holden, generously offered his house for that purpose “and gave the keys to Mayor Dunn with the request that the house be used as long as it was needed”. That night, the aldermen adopted two resolutions, one thanking Mister Holden in the name of the city; the other instructing Mayor Dunn to make the necessary arrangements. The sum of two thousand dollars was appropriated for the preparations with the expectation that it be opened for use, “in a few days”. The next day, voters in the city approved five thousand dollars more, “to use in coping with the smallpox situation”. These were the days before HIPAA regulations and so “The Chronicle” and other newspapers dutifully reported the name and sometimes the background story,  of each new smallpox sufferer. One story speaks of Joseph C... who had been seen ,”around the streets with his face all broken out”. The health officer went in search of him and “hustled him back to his house and quarantined the home. There is a wife and two children. None of them have the disease so far. He is a brother of Elizabeth C... who was quarantined at the home of her parents Monday night.” This week’s photo shows the rear of the Isolation Hospital on Pleasant Street. (to be continued) For questions or comments about this  week’s photo or article, please e-mail us at “threadcity@outlook.com”.