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A Look Through History—Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Pictures

A Look Through History—Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Pictures

View some of our favorite photos from the past 70 years that capture life at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.

Plum Island Animal Disease Center building under construction.
Built by the U.S. Army as a mine storage facility, Building 257 was converted into a government laboratory in the 1950s and used by PIADC as early as 1954. It is the oldest biocontainment facility in the U.S. Photo credit: USDA.
Architectural rendering of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center building in the 1950's.
Architectural rendering of PIADC’s Building 101, 1950s. Photo credit: USDA.
Exterior view of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center building.
Exterior view of newly constructed Building 101 and the biocompound, 1956. Photo credit: USDA.
Dr. Syndey S. Breese Jr. uses an electron microscope while working in a PIADC laboratory.
Dr. Sydney S. Breese Jr. uses an electron microscope while working in a PIADC laboratory, 1950s. Photo credit: USDA.
Members of the Plum Island Fire Department standing in front of three fire trucks.
Members of the Plum Island Fire Department, 1950s. Photo credit: USDA.
5 men in white lab coats in the PIADC lab.
From left, Colonel Donald L. Mace, Dr. Jerry Callis, Dr. O.N. Fellowes, Dr. H.L. Bachrach, and Dr. Maurice Shahan in the Building 257 lab, late 1950s. Photo credit: USDA.
Several people sitting in a round around a table attending a PIADC first aid and safety course takes place on island.
A PIADC first aid and safety course takes place on island, 1961. Photo credit: USDA.
A min in a white lab coat, sitting at a table conduction an experiment in the PIADC lab.
Dr. George T. Dimopollous conducting complement fixation at PIADC, 1965. Photo credit: USDA.
Two men using lab equipment in the PIADC microbiological investigations.
Dr. Peter Gailinous (left) and Edward Kramer (right) at work in microbiological investigations, 1966. Photo credit: USDA.
A woman in the PIADC lab using equipment examining plaque assays.
Lab Technician Tabor examines plaque assays formed by virus particles in tissue culture cells, 1958. Photo credit: USDA.
Plum Island Ferry in a body of water.
The Plum Isle Ferry, a government ferry, was capable of carrying freight, vehicles, and passengers, 1960s. Photo credit: USDA.
Two men looking at data on a screen.
PIADC staff members working at a supervisory data center on island, designed to monitor various operations activities, 1975. Photo credit: USDA.
A cow in an animal treatment machine and a man working the machine.
To maintain their health when quarantined on the island, animals were treated to keep them free of biting insects, 1982. Photo credit: USDA.
Two animal care supervisors examining a cow.
Animal Care Supervisor, Jerry Lake (left) and Dr. Tony Ramirez, Veterinary Medical Officer (right) examine a cow in Building 101, 1990s. Photo credit: USDA.
PIADC animal care staff in a room posing for a picture with two pigs.
PIADC animal care staff in Building 257, 1992. From left, Jeff Babcock, Animal Caretaker Supervisor; Tom Garner, Animal Caretaker; Dr. Corrie Brown, Veterinary Medical Officer; Art Nichols, Animal Caretaker; Dan Wood, Animal Caretaker; Jim Liszanckie, Animal Caretaker. Photo credit: USDA.
A Plum Island ferry with 12 people on it.
The current fleet of PIADC ferries includes the Motor Vessel (M/V) Edward V. Kramer, M/V Plum Island, Motor Ship Shahan II, and the J.J. Callis. These boats travel 8,112 nautical miles annually to transport workers between Plum Island and Old Saybrook, CT, and Orient Point, NY. Photo credit: DHS.
A group of Plum Island firefighters standing in front of a fire truck.
The Plum Island Fire Brigade, 2013. Photo credit: DHS.
A man and a woman in white lab coats sitting at a desk observing data on a computer screen.
Dr. John Neilan and Lindsay Gabbert, DHS S&T PIADC Science Group, observing African swine fever cells, 2020. Photo credit: DHS.
A lighthouse sitting on a land.
Originally constructed in 1869, the lighthouse was automated in 1978 and fell into a state of disrepair. In May 2023, DHS completed a stabilization effort to preserve the structure. Photo credit: DHS.
Plum Island aerial view and the body of water around it.
At 840 acres, Plum Island is roughly the size of Central Park, and it sits 1.5 miles off the tip of Long Island. Photo credit: DHS.
Last Updated: 08/06/2024
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