Archives West Finding Aid

In 1901, the 7th Legislative Assembly of Montana created the State Board of Health. The Board, which consisted of the Attorney General, the Governor, and five other members appointed by the Governor, was authorized to "make sanitary investigations and inquiries respecting the causes of disease, and especially epidemics, the causes of mortality and the influence of locality, employment, habits, and other circumstances and conditions, upon the health of the people."

The State Board of Health was responsible for the administration and enforcement of laws related to public health, including ensuring pure foods and drugs, inspecting tourist campgrounds, and licensing related businesses. The Food and Drug Division of the Board administered these sections of the law. The division director, sanitarian, and tourist campground inspector routinely conducted field inspections on restaurants, food- or drug-related businesses, hotels, tourist campgrounds, and water supplies to ensure sanitary conditions. The Food and Drug Division also licensed public eating places, meat markets, food manufacturers, soft drink manufacturers and distributors, and tourist campgrounds.

In 1911, the Division of Water and Sewage was created, and the Board of Health was charged with overseeing it. Its first director was W. M. Cobleigh. In the early years, work centered around installation of sewage treating plants to prevent pollution of streams, protect watersheds, and provide clean drinking water; creation of regulations governing preparation and submission of designs for sewer systems and treatment plants; and analyzing public and private water supplies.

During the Great Depression, Board of Health cooperated with the United States Public Health Service and the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in sponsoring the Montana Community Sanitation Program. The program was designed to eliminate insanitary devices by the construction of sanitary privies on public and private property wherever sewer systems were impracticable for any reason. On April 15, 1944, the Division of Water and Sewage was renamed the Division of Sanitary Engineering because of the expansion of field work being done by the division and the development of sanitary engineering as a more clearly-defined field.

In 1950, the Division of Sanitary Engineering and the Division of Food and Drug were combined to create a new Division of Environmental Sanitation. C. W. Brinck was appointed director of the new division on May 1, 1951. The new division was divided into three sections: water, sewage, and general sanitation.

In 1967, the Montana Department of Health was created, and the State Board of Health was charged with overseeing the new Department. In 1971, the Department of Health was abolished, and its functions were assumed by the newly created Department of Health and Environmental Sciences. The State Board of Health was later renamed the Board of Health and Environmental Sciences. In 1994, the Board of Health and Environmental Sciences was abolished, and its duties were assumed by the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences. In 1995, following another state government reorganization, the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences combined with parts of the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services to form the Department of Public Health and Human Services. The Environmental Sciences Division of DHES became its own Department, the Department of Environmental Quality.