True West Magazine
The miners who had meals and rented a room at this Palmetto, California, boardinghouse in the 1860s would have shared close quarters in their rooms, plus used common wash basins, towels, chamber pots, outdoor privies and possibly communal washrooms—which meant illnesses spread easily.
What was frontier life like in the 1880s?
Rena Miller
Titusville, Florida
What you see in Westerns is a sanitized version of life in the 19th century. Diseases like typhoid, cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis and other contagions could wipe out entire families or even communities. Most of these were caused by unsanitary conditions. Germs were only a theory until almost the 20th century. Child mortality rates were high. Many doctors lacked medical skills. Dental care was almost nonexistent.