WaSMAR1802_B9 Guide to the Health Officer Reports 1900-1901 Health Officer Reports Finding aid prepared by Shannon B. Lynch Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Seattle Municipal Archives © 2004
PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
Finding aid encoded by Shannon B. Lynch 2004 Finding aid written in English. Seattle Municipal Archives
PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
1802-B9 Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk Health Officer Reports 1900-1901 .4 cubic foot 1 box Monthly narrative and statistical reports of the Health Officer, 1900-1901. Reports include birth, mortality, and infectious disease statistics as well as records of inspections. Collection materials are in English. Historical Note

The 1890 Charter established a Board of Health. Among the Board's duties was appointment of a Health Officer who would act as "city physician" and serve as the executive of the Board.

The Health Officer had the responsibility of enforcing city health ordinances and the Board of Health's regulations; other duties included visiting public buildings and reporting on their level of sanitation, making monthly and annual reports on birth, death, and disease statistics, and recording births, deaths, and burials. The physicians and midwives of the city were obligated to report births, occurrences of infectious disease, and deaths to the Health Officer, who was also responsible for issuing permits for disinterment and exhumation.

The Health Officer was also involved with quarantining citizens suffering from "smallpox, yellow fever, Asiatic cholera, or other infectious disease" as necessary; flags and placards indicating the nature of the disease were posted at the houses of the ill, and the names of infected persons were reported to the Police Department, superintendent of schools, and the public librarian.

In 1908, the mayor-appointed position of Commissioner of Health took over the powers and responsibilities of both the Health Officer and the Board of Health.

The Health Officer Monthly Reports (1900-1901) are narrative and statistical reports on public health concerns including birth, mortality, and infectious disease reports. Also included are statistics on plumbing inspections, quarantine reports, meat, milk, and other food inspection reports, slaughterhouse reports, and general sanitation reports.

Reports are arranged chronologically by month and year.

Records are open to the public.

[Item and date], Health Officer Reports, Record Series 1802-B9. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Seattle (Wash.). Health Officer Seattle (Wash.) Public health--Washington (State)--Seattle Community health services--Washington (State)--Seattle Food adulteration and inspection--Washington (State)--Seattle Communicable diseases--Washington (State)--Seattle Quarantine--Washington (State)--Seattle Childbirth--Statistics--Washington (State)--Seattle Mortality--Statistics--Washington (State)--Seattle Meat inspection--Washington (State)--Seattle Dairy inspection--Washington (State)--Seattle Plumbing--Inspection--Washington (State)--Seattle Slaughtering and slaughter-houses--Inspection--Washington (State)--Seattle Sanitation--Washington (State)--Seattle Medicine and Health Seattle Monthly reports Vital statistics records Health officers--Washington (State)--Seattle

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

1 Health Officer Reports 1900-1901