Where Route 420 ends at the Delaware River, you’ll find Lazaretto.
Considered both the oldest surviving quarantine hospital and the last surviving example of its type in the United States, it was built by the newly created Board of Health after the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 killed off one tenth of Philadelphia’s population. Thereafter, every vessel headed toward the port of Philadelphia first stopped at Lazaretto.
Later, it was the home of the Philadelphia Athletic Club, then a flight school during World War I and then a seaplane base.
Speaker Barbara Selletti will paint a vivid picture of Lazaretto’s long and fascinating history.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Known as the “Lazaretto Lady,” Barbara Selletti is a local historian, genealogist and Neumann University librarian. She and her husband, Tony, were instrumental in the effort to save and restore the Lazaretto.
The program is free and open to the public: Monday, June 12 at the Helen Kate Furness Library on Providence Road in Wallingford, starting at 7:30.
Filed under: Programs & Events | Tagged: Barbara Selletti, Essington, Historical Society, Lazaretto, Nether Providence Historical Society, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Athletic Club, seaplane, yellow fever | Leave a comment »
Celebrated historian Nancy Webster will present A Brief History of Popular Street Foods, an exploration of sidewalk cuisine from American Colonial times through present day. Some will be familiar (we’ve been frequenting hot dog and pretzel vendors for ages) and others will be surprising.
Held in Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill, the International Exhibition of 1876 was the first official World’s Fair in the United States. Historical researcher Mary Anne Eves will share photos of Memorial Hall and the many other buildings constructed for the fair. She’ll talk about this celebration of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence which also celebrated America’s growing industrial prowess.
Nether Providence Historical Society 