William E. Watson is associate professor and chair of history at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Tricolor and Crescent (Praeger, 2003) and The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union (Greenwood, 1998).J. Francis Watson has a PhD in historical theology and is a Lutheran clergyman and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. His articles on religious history have appeared in various journals.John H. Ahtes III is assistant professor of history, Immaculata College. He has published in Irish Review.Earl H. Schandelmeier III received his BA in history from Immaculata University, where he served as history department assistant. He teaches history in Maryland. He worked for many years in business, including as a consultant for Toyota Motor Production Systems, and also as an operations manager.

• Preface and AcknowledgmentsThe Genesis of the Philadelphia and Columbia RailroadThe Kingdom of Ireland in 1832America in 1832The Irish in Penn's WoodsThe Story of Duffy's Cut"A Chastisement for the Sins of the People": Cholera in Pennsylvania, 1832Duffy's Cut in Historical MemoryThe Ghosts of Duffy's CutDuffy's Cut Project: A ChronicleA Virtual Tour of Duffy's CutAppendixNotesBibliographyIndexPhoto Sections

In the summer of 1832, Irish immigrant Philip Duffy contracted 57 of his newly arrived countrymen to lay a stretch of railroad some 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Within two months, all were dead, struck down in the global cholera pandemic that hit Philadelphia the same time they did. Four historians, three at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, tell the story, putting into the context of immigration, industrialization, and epidemiology. They draw on surviving archival and archaeological evidence.

William E. Watson is associate professor and chair of history at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Tricolor and Crescent (Praeger, 2003) and The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union (Greenwood, 1998).J. Francis Watson has a PhD in historical theology and is a Lutheran clergyman and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. His articles on religious history have appeared in various journals.John H. Ahtes III is assistant professor of history, Immaculata College. He has published in Irish Review.Earl H. Schandelmeier III received his BA in history from Immaculata University, where he served as history department assistant. He teaches history in Maryland. He worked for many years in business, including as a consultant for Toyota Motor Production Systems, and also as an operations manager.

• Preface and AcknowledgmentsThe Genesis of the Philadelphia and Columbia RailroadThe Kingdom of Ireland in 1832America in 1832The Irish in Penn's WoodsThe Story of Duffy's Cut"A Chastisement for the Sins of the People": Cholera in Pennsylvania, 1832Duffy's Cut in Historical MemoryThe Ghosts of Duffy's CutDuffy's Cut Project: A ChronicleA Virtual Tour of Duffy's CutAppendixNotesBibliographyIndexPhoto Sections

In the summer of 1832, Irish immigrant Philip Duffy contracted 57 of his newly arrived countrymen to lay a stretch of railroad some 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Within two months, all were dead, struck down in the global cholera pandemic that hit Philadelphia the same time they did. Four historians, three at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, tell the story, putting into the context of immigration, industrialization, and epidemiology. They draw on surviving archival and archaeological evidence.

William E. Watson is associate professor and chair of history at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania. He is the author of Tricolor and Crescent (Praeger, 2003) and The Collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union (Greenwood, 1998).J. Francis Watson has a PhD in historical theology and is a Lutheran clergyman and ecclesiastical archivist in New Jersey. His articles on religious history have appeared in various journals.John H. Ahtes III is assistant professor of history, Immaculata College. He has published in Irish Review.Earl H. Schandelmeier III received his BA in history from Immaculata University, where he served as history department assistant. He teaches history in Maryland. He worked for many years in business, including as a consultant for Toyota Motor Production Systems, and also as an operations manager.

• Preface and AcknowledgmentsThe Genesis of the Philadelphia and Columbia RailroadThe Kingdom of Ireland in 1832America in 1832The Irish in Penn's WoodsThe Story of Duffy's Cut"A Chastisement for the Sins of the People": Cholera in Pennsylvania, 1832Duffy's Cut in Historical MemoryThe Ghosts of Duffy's CutDuffy's Cut Project: A ChronicleA Virtual Tour of Duffy's CutAppendixNotesBibliographyIndexPhoto Sections

In the summer of 1832, Irish immigrant Philip Duffy contracted 57 of his newly arrived countrymen to lay a stretch of railroad some 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Within two months, all were dead, struck down in the global cholera pandemic that hit Philadelphia the same time they did. Four historians, three at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, tell the story, putting into the context of immigration, industrialization, and epidemiology. They draw on surviving archival and archaeological evidence.