The Seattle City Council created the position of City Health Officer in 1877. The Health Officer had the responsibility to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served in the role. An amended City Charter in 1908 replaced the Board of Health with a new Department of Health, with a Commissioner of Health appointed by the Mayor.
This image of the Health Office on Yesler Way was taken about 1900, before the department moved to City Hall. The population of Seattle in 1900 was about 80,700, although that tripled in the next 10 years. Health concerns of the time included preventing the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox, typhoid, and cholera. The Seattle Department of Health continued in this form until 1951, when it merged with the King County Department of Health.
Typed on verso: Seattle's Health Dept. on Yesler Way in the early 1900's
Caption information source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_%E2%80%93_Seattle_%26_King_County Caption information source: http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/board-of-health/background.aspx
ID Number: SHS218
Date: Circa 1900
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard: b&w ; 7.5 x 10 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
