An early 20th-century scrapbook from the Durham County Department of Health is now available at digitalnc.org. The scrapbook features a variety of forms, certificates, permits, and public notices from 1913-1950, including a quarantine warning sign and sanitation violation notices.
Also included are descriptions and signs for Grades “A” and “B” Raw Milk. One post lists dairy barn guidelines for Grade “A” Milk, including descriptions of acceptable lighting, floors, air space, toilets, and water supplies.
Another notable public notice is the “Stop That Spitting!” sign, which states that under Article II, Section 14, Sanitary Code, of the County and City of Durham it is “unlawful for any person to expectorate upon any paved sidewalk, or upon the floor of any public building, or any store, or upon the pavement adjacent to any public building…” Violators were fined $1.00.
Included with the scrapbook are some blank forms for the medical history of and the investigation into typhoid and paratyphoid carriers during an influenza pandemic. The original scrapbook is in the North Carolina Collection at the Durham County Library.
