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Seattle's public health agency was established in 1900 as the Department of Sanitation. In 1951 the department merged with the King County Department of Health. Prior to 1981, the City of Seattle administered the department with the two jurisdictions providing funding in proportion to their populations. Reorganization in 1981 placed administrative control in the hands of the County while the City retained direct policy and funding control over the Seattle Services Division. Departmental records are managed by King County. The Board of Health was created by the 1890 City Charter with authority to supervise the health and sanitation of the City; it was abolished in 1908.

Proceedings of the Board of Health. Includes monthly reports (1890-1892) of the Health Officer with statistical summary of deaths and nuisances reported. Subjects include sewers, drainage, contagious diseases, building inspections, vital statistics, and burials.

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Statistical and narrative reports including birth, death, and disease information correlated by variables. The 1932-1935 report traces most statistics from 1901 to 1935. The 1939-1943 report is a 433 page history and survey of public health in Seattle and includes a brief history of the city.

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Includes Weekly Health Indexes, 1939-1947; Venereal Disease Indexes, 1943-1947; and Communicable Disease, Morbidity, and Mortality Reports, 1960-1963. Weekly index includes statistical breakdown of deaths by cause and diseases by type. The monthly venereal disease reports include a narrative report, statistical summary of cases reported, police arrests and quarantines, army and navy treatments, and information regarding health clinics treatments. The later records include statistics on deaths, immunizations, and communicable diseases.

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