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Of 224 families living in this community in 1786, as many as 171 raised cattle and caught fish for their living. Only 43 families were merchants and craftsmen and 10 had other occupations. The houses were built of hard packed earth and unbaked bricks, and only a few were built in of stone. Other assets owned by Gradiška community were as follows:
| 65 | acres of orchards |
| 933 | acres of fields |
| 677 | acres of meadows |
| 537 | acres of pasture land |
| 427 | horned cattle |
| 92 | goats and sheep |
| 569 | pigs |
| 195 | beehives |
| 4 | stills for making brandy |
| 2 | water-mills |
| Annual tax revenue | 1293 forints |
| Rental and other income | 1030 forints |
| TOTAL: | 2323 forints |
The town administration consisted of a three-man council and one judge. The settlement had its own seal showing 4 stars and 3 fishes.(31)
Reconstruction of the Fortress
Two years after obtaining the privileges of a community, work began on felling large oak forests (32) which spread across the whole of Posavina. The majority of timber was used for the reconstruction of the fortification. When the rebuilding was completed in 1765, the fortress looked completel.y different. The ground-plan of the new settlement had regular contours and consisted of three streets parallel to the River Sava and five vertically drawn streets with 17 regular blocks of houses. By omitting one block of houses in front of the fortress an area was provided for an asymmetrical town square. (33)
This pragmatic, military ground-plan is basically similar to ground-plans of other settlements of that time, built using the same pattern throughout the Croatian military border lands - (Karlovac, Bjelovar). Building of the settlement, based on the new ground-plan, was carried out in several stages, since the construction of the fortress and military buildings was a priority while the building of houses for civilians was neglected and eventually stopped completely. Civilian houses were gradually removed from the area required for building ramparts, earthworks and the moat. By the end of this reconstruction, Gradiška fortress had seven bastions with extended ramparts and an angular tower ("redan"). The garrison was supposed to number 440 members in peacetime.
Apart from this reconstruction work, in 1750 the military authorities es;ublished a "cordon" or sentinel in all settlements along the River Sava with 92 watch- towers.(34)
Along with the cordon, health stations ("kontumaci") were founded and the only station within the district of the Gradiška regiment was situated close to the fortification. Health stations were introduced in order to provide preventive health care and their work was important in cases of contagious diseases and plague. These stations were also the places where all persons coming from neighbouring Bosnia were kept in isolation for 10, 21 or 42 days. Preventive desinfection of goods coming from Bosnia was also carried out there by exposing them to smoke.(35)
Apart from health stations, a kind of market was established ("rasteli") where goods were exchanged and bought.
The Beginnings of a Health Service
In 1722, a disastrous epidemic of plague, brought over from Bosnia, broke out in Batrina, Staro Petrovo Selo, Vrbovo, Štivica, Davor and other settlements in the eastern part of the Gradiška regiment district. This terrible disease reappeared in 1739, 1755 and 1815 but its spread was efficiently stopped by preventive measures and good organisation by the military medical service. The next epidemic that broke out in the same area, claimed only a few victims thanks to the health service successfully organised by the royal Doctor Gabrieli and Doctor Kolly of the Petrovaradin regiment. This epidemic died out by the end of May of the same year when a "sanitary siege" ("Sanitats Ordnung") was introduced. In 1836 a severe epidemic of cholera broke out in Crnogovci which spread throughout 49 settlements of the Gradiška regimental district. 301 people died. The military command of the Croatian military borderlands had to pay particular attention to medical care and pharmacies, which were of special importance. At first, garrison pharmacies flourished in larger military garrisons and they supplied minor settlements. In a regimental district, only one pharmacy could be founded and it was subject to inspection and control by officers of the Croatian military border lands. The most important medicines could only be obtained by doctor's prescription. The pharmacists had to prepare medicines in compliance with the regulations of the Austrian military pharmacopoeia, issued in 1796 and 1830. The same regulations had to be observed by civilian pharmacists who were under contract with the army. The border land soldiers were given their medicines free of charge if they were taken ill during military service and paid half the price if they were ill whilst not serving. The members of their families had the right to buy medicines at lower cost if they had prescriptions at their disposal. Medicines and treatments of various illnesses were strictly specified. Thus, scabies were treated by black soap and sulphur. When this disease appeared, the school had to close and children and parents were subject to obligatory medical examination and treatment. Deafness was treated with chamomile tea mixed with vinegar and buzzing in the ears with camphor. The treatment of mental diseases was still on the level of medieval medicine and for these problems medicines for sweating and vomiting were used. If these remedies were of no help, the diagnoses was usually "unrequited love". Cholera was treated with hot compresses and hot beverages used to incite sweating and patients were put in quarantine and isolation. Plague was treated with camphor, valerian and chamomile. Since their skin was considered very important for the prevention of contagious diseases, people used to oil and tar themselves as a protective measure.
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