HomeMy WebLinkAboutKitchener Board of HealthCity of Kitchener Corporate Archives
Kitchener Board of Health fonds, 1884-1968.
Prepared by: Christina Pflug
June 2000
KITCHENER BOARD OF HEALTH fonds. - 1884-1968. - 36 cm of textual
records.
The Board of Health for the Town of Berlin/City of Kitchener has been
described as one of the oldest in Ontario. For nearly 114 years, the Board cared
and provided for the health needs of the community. It was first established in
1884 with the purpose of serving the community in all health matters, particularly
preventing the spread of contagious diseases and regulating the burying of the
dead. In later years, the focus of the Board shifted as greater emphasis was
placed upon the control of communicable diseases and the enforcement of
various sanitation regulations. The first meeting of the Board of Health was held
on July 18, 1854 at the Court House in Berlin. In its early years, meetings of the
Board were not held regularly; members generally met only during the spring,
summer and early fall months. However, by the late nineteenth century, the
Board began to meet with increased regularity throughout the year. In 1865 all
members of the Board were granted the title of Health Officer and were accorded
the accompanying privileges. In 1884 a Medical Health Officer and a Sanitary
Inspector were appointed to the Board. Through much of its history, the Board of
Health was involved in various activities such as constructing isolation hospitals,
regulating the sanitary conditions of local shops and butchers, and responding to
outbreaks of small pox and influenza. On May 25, 1967 the Provincial Minister of
Health announced that substantial changes would be made in the health
structure of the province. Ontario would be divided into 29 Health Districts. The
provincial government would pay for approximately 75% of the costs of the Public
Health Services in these districts. It was determined that Waterloo County would
be one of these new districts. The new Waterloo County Health Unit was
comprised of the former Departments of Health of Waterloo County and the
Cities of Waterloo and Kitchener. Although the Kitchener Board of Health
expressed some misgivings regarding these changes, the three Boards were
combined into a single unit. On April 1, 1968 the Waterloo County Health Unit
replaced the Kitchener Board of Health and took over the responsibility of the
public health of the community.
The fonds consists primarily of minutes of Board meetings. However, the
board volumes of minutes also contain a mixture of correspondence, newspaper
clippings, accounting information, and copies of by-laws. They also contain
several annual reports, including the first annual report of the Board, which
covers the Board's activities from November 1923 to November 1924. The
records cover the period 1884-1968 and illustrate the health concerns and needs
of the community of Berlin/Kitchener over the course of a century, as well as the
response of the Board to these issues. Not all of the records are the originals;
several volumes are composed entirely of photocopies.
Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Records transferred to the City of Kitchener upon the dissolution of the
Board.
1: Minutes. - 1884-1968. - 11 bound volumes.
This series consists of minutes of the Kitchener Board of Health which
contain a combination of correspondence, newspaper clippings,
accounting information, and copies of by-laws. Several annual reports are
also included.
An index of minutes is available in Appendix A.
APPENDIX A
Series 1: Minutes
Title Date Volume/Item Box
Minutes 1884-1905 1-1 10818
Minutes 1906-1911 1-2 10818
Minutes 1911-1920 2-1 10817
Minutes 1921-1927 2-2 10817
Minutes 1928-1930 3-1 10819
Minutes 1931-1938 3-2 10819
Minutes 1939-1946 4-1 10824
Minutes 1947-1953 4-2 10824
Minutes 1954-1960 5-1 10822
Minutes 1961-1964 5-2 10822
Minutes 1965-1968 6-1 10820