On October 20, 1850, the first cases of cholera broke out in Sacramento (although it could be argued that there may have been cases in Sacramento up to a week prior). This occurred the day after the steamboat, the New World, brought the news to Sacramento that California had been admitted to the Union as the 31st State. Dr. Thomas Logan reported 7 cases of cholera to the city council on October 21, but the council and the newspapers tried to dissuade people from thinking it was a concern. A few days later, Logan brought the issue of an impending cholera epidemic again to the city council and his concern was taken a bit more seriously. After 20 days, around 800 people passed away of cholera (roughly 8-10 percent of Sacramento’s population) and the city was almost deserted by the time the epidemic ended. Logan was one of 24 doctors in the city at the time of the outbreak but was only one of 7 doctors to survive the epidemic. Hospitals were formed throughout the city to treat the vict...