Program Description
Event Details
More than a century ago, Asheville was a nationally known destination for those seeking a cure from the dreaded "white plague," also known as phthisis, consumption, or tuberculosis. Health and wellness accounted for much of the city's dramatic growth from 1870-1920, yet evidence of the tuberculosis sanitarium era has since largely vanished from Asheville's physical landscape—unless you know where to look.
Join infectious disease expert and local historian Professor David O. Freedman as he shares new research into this invisible history. Learn about Dr. Joseph W. Gleitsmann's establishment of the first successful TB sanitarium in the US in Asheville in 1875 and George Vanderbilt and E.W. Grove's eventual "No Sick" campaign to rebrand the city. The story of the Winyah Sanitarium and Von Ruck Research Laboratories (the current site of the UNCA Woods) includes controversial vaccine development strategies, once debated on the floor of Congress, that are currently revived at the scientific forefront.
About the Speaker
David O. Freedman, MD, is a world-recognized expert in infectious diseases and vaccine research. A Professor Emeritus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Freedman has spent his career at the forefront of global health crises, including Zika and Chikungunya. Since moving to Asheville in 2023, he has taken up a new interest in uncovering the city's medical history, recently publishing his findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
About Buncombe County Special Collections
The Buncombe County Special Collections Library (formerly the North Carolina Room) is located on the lower level of Pack Memorial Library in Downtown Asheville. Buncombe County Special Collections preserves and provides access to archives and reference materials about the social, cultural, and natural history of Asheville, Buncombe County, and Western North Carolina.
Go to specialcollections.buncombenc.gov to learn more and plan a visit!