Montana State Board of Health and Environmental Sciences records

Collection

Identifier: RS-58

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection is a subgroup (Predecessor Agency) of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services records. The Montana State Board of Health and Environmental Sciences was abolished in 1994. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services records.

This collection consists of records created by the Montana State Board of Health and Environmental Sciences, and its predecessor the Montana State Board of Health, as well as those records created by the Division of Environmental Sanitation and its predecessors. The collection contains meeting minutes, reports from the Missoula City-County Health Department and from state health officers concerning typhoid fever Montana, licensing laws for hospitals, state public health plans, and industrial hygiene of the Zonolite Company of Libby. Also included are materials documenting on the history and activities of the Montana Health Planning Committee from 1946 to 1950. The Division of Environmental Sanitation records consist of correspondence, Food and Drug field investigations, Water and Sewage lab reports, and miscellaneous other materials documenting the activities of those offices.

Dates

Creation: 1907-1966

Access Restrictions

This collection open for research.

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases, permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright holders. For more information, contact the Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives.

Historical Note

Established: By the Montana Legislative Assembly, Pp. 80-90, L. 1901.

Functions: Exercising general care over the health interests of the people of the state.

Predecessor Agency: Montana State Board of Health

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 State Department of Health was created, and the 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 Board of Health remained in existence, but it was renamed the Board of Health and Environmental Sciences. In 1994, the Board of Health was abolished, and its duties were assumed by the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences (currently the Department of Public Health and Human Services).

Extent

5 linear feet

10 Volumes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Summary

Arrangement

This collection is organized into two series based on agency duties. Series include:

Series 1: Board records, 1907-1994, 2 linear feet

Series 2: Environmental Sanitation records, 1919-1970, 3 linear feet, 10 volumes

Location of Collection

29:8-1

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records in this collection were acquired via a series of transfers from the Montana State Board of Health and Environmental Sciences, the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, and the Department of Environmental Quality. Detailed information about specific transfers is available upon request.

Acquisition Information

The records in this collection were acquired via a series of transfers from the Montana Board of Health and the Department of Health. More detailed information about individual transfers is available upon request.

Location of Copies

Microfilm of the Board of Health meeting minutes and the communicable disease reports in this collection is available in the Research Center Library as SMF 23 and SMF 41.

Separated Materials

Photographs and printed material transferred to photo archives and library respectively.

Processing Note

In 2022, this record group were reprocessed to promote ease of access, and the following collections were integrated: RS 113 and RS 238, as well as State Board of Health correspondence previously filed in the Office of Public Instruction records, RS 102.

Processing Information

In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 495, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the Montana Historical Society catalog, and to follow best archival practices.

Collections from Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services' various Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 495. Rather than reprocessing over 150 linear feet of DPHHS materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.