Pioneering Medicine: Milestones from Seattle's First Century 1850-1950

For thousands of years prior to the first European exploration, the Puget Sound region – and what is now Seattle – was inhabited by the Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish people. Archaeological excavations at what is now Discovery Park confirm settlement dating back 4,000 years. Other archaeological sites in the Northwest have shown that Native Americans lived in the Puget Sound region for over 10,000 years, arriving just after the Ice Age. Thirteen tribal villages could be found within the current city limits in the 1850's.

The Duwamish or "People of the Inside" – referring to Elliot Bay and the Duwamish River estuary – who inhabited this area used native plants for medicinal purposes, or herbal medicine, as well as believed in the spiritual powers of shamans.

The Duwamish lived in established villages of longhouses year-round from which they foraged for a variety of plants they used for food and medicinal purposes. Renowned ethnobotanist Erna Gunther was instrumental in capturing the botanical history of area tribes. Some of the indigenous plants of medicinal value include Western red cedar, alder, trillium, blue sedge, salal and kinnikinnick.

None of these remedies, however, could protect the people from the infectious diseases introduced first by European explorers and later traders and settlers. The lives of the native people of the Pacific Northwest were forever altered by diseases such as measles and smallpox, for which they had no natural immunity. A large percentage of the Puget Salish people had been wiped out by the end of the 19th century. A devastating outcome for tribes which had been largely welcoming of early white settlers.

European exploration of this area dates to the 1520’s when Spanish galleons began sailing between Mexico and the Philippines. In 1707 the San Francisco Xavier, sailing from Manila to Acapulco, shipwrecked on the Oregon coast near Nehalem Beach.

In the 18th century, Russian expeditions to Alaska spurred more Spanish exploration to affirm Spain’s claim to the territory. Beginning in 1774, Spanish explorers traveled the Pacific coastline trading with Native Americans and sailing northward claiming territory at points in Washington and British Columbia.

1n 1778 Cook's third expedition to the Pacific Ocean (1776-1780) made landfall at Nootka Sound, where he acquired sea otter pelts and explored the coastline north to Alaska. In 1785, James Hanna's voyage opened the coastal fur trade for Britain. Fur trade continued with 37 voyages over the next decade.

Despite the British presence, Spain continued to claim much of this area until 1792 when George Vancouver was sent to implement a 1790 treaty. As a result, Spain withdrew from the Northwest coast in 1794.

After the Revolution, American exploration began in earnest when Robert Gray and John Kendrick arrived in 1788 to trade furs. Gray would later discover the Columbia River. Over 100 American vessels would arrive to trade fur over the next twenty years. In 1804, Thomas Jefferson, eager to learn more about the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, enlisted William Clark and Meriwether Lewis to lead the Corps of Discovery. Lewis received a crash course in medical training from the era’s leading physician, Benjamin Rush.

In 1824, physician John McLoughlin was appointed superintendent of the Hudson’s Bay Company at Ft. Vancouver. A decade later, in 1834, Marcus Whitman, also a physician, established a mission near Walla Walla. Whitman’s inability to cure Native Americans during a measles outbreak lead to his death in 1847. The Native American population would eventually be decimated by the many diseases introduced by settlers for which they had no natural immunity.

The California Gold Rush in 1849 and the discovery of coal throughout present-day King County made the Oregon Territory area a beacon for pioneering adventurers beginning with the Denny party in 1851.

David Swinson 'Doc' Maynard holds a unique and special place in Seattle's history. He was personable, generous to a fault, and enjoyed his drink. He has been lauded and lampooned by Seattle's historians for over 100 years. But it has been written 'that without his influence, Seattle would not be.' In 1873, Doc Maynard died, destitute.

Some Maynard Seattle firsts:

• Physician
• Hospital
• Blacksmith
• Justice of the Peace - assumed to have performed first marriage in King County
• Lawyer - one of first to practice
• School Board head
• Indian Agent
• Polling Place, Dec 7, 1852. Election to replace Oregon Territory Councilman, C. Lancaster
• Divorce (by a law he requested, in Salem, OT, when creating Washington Territory)
• Bigamist - Lived with two wives (when wife #1 unexpectedly showed up)

Some of Maynard's Activities and Accomplishments:

• Gave land to Henry Yesler to start his saw mill to grow Seattle business (first real estate transaction)
• Helped carve out Washington Territory from Oregon Territory
• Friend of, and physician to, Chief Sealth and Native Americans
• Credited with naming Seattle
• Platted his land - the Pioneer Square section of Seattle – differently from Denny, resulting in "Yesler's corner"
• Prevented a larger "Indian uprising" in the Battle of Seattle
• In 2015, King County names a Water Taxi in his honor

Reference

Not long after its founding, population growth in and around the city of Seattle resulted in a variety of public health issues. The causes were generally controllable, though ignored early on.

Many of the early health public health issues were directly related to poor sanitation - typhoid fever and cholera among the most common. Often, raw sewage ran directly into the fresh water lakes (the city’s water supply), and into the Sound where tides varied widely in height, creating problems with the sewer system. Farm animals, known to be diseased, as well as tainted milk, were often sold for human consumption.

By 1877, the need for a Public Health officer was paramount. Dr. Gideon Weed, then Mayor of Seattle, made it happen.

Seattle's first Health Officer, Dr. F. W. Sparling helped lay the foundation for protecting Seattle’s public health and improving sanitation practices. Policies included broad quarantines that would violate today’s civil liberties, for the good of the population.

The Start of Seattle’s Public Health Department

In 1872, Dr. Gideon Weed was appointed as Seattle’s Health Officer, under Mayor J.T. Jordan. As Health Officer, Dr Weed responsible for establishing and implementing the new City Ordinance No. 30, aimed at curbing infectious diseases. A few years later, in 1877, as Mayor, Dr. Weed established the position of City Health Officer, naming Dr F. W. Sparling as Seattle’s first Health Officer.

Early Seattle Health Officers 1877-1890

• 1878 Dr F.W. Sparling
• 1879 Dr H.B. Bagley
• 1880 Dr O.G. Root
• 1881-83 Dr E.L. Smith
• 1884 Dr G.A. Weed
• 1885 Dr J.S.M. Smart
• 1886-87 Dr E.L. Smith
• 1888 Dr R.M. Eames
• 1889 Dr Horace S. Grant
• 1890 Dr W.M. Hilton

By 1890, the need to protect the health of Seattle’s growing population was a top priority. On May 31, under the new city charter, the Seattle Board of Health was formed.

The founding of the Washington Territorial Medical Society, in 1874, and the King County Medical Society, in 1888, ensured that the growing population of Washington territory would receive medical care provided by qualified practitioners. Both societies established standards to protect against charlatans and to promote continuing medical education.

Under the guidance of these organizations, medical practice was codified and regulated. Publications, such as Northwest Medicine, were established to keep the medical community informed of new medical technology and techniques and related regional and national events.

Many of the pioneering physicians who founded and led these organizations, and their membership, also contributed to the growth of the region through political and public service and as key business leaders, and continue to do so.

Gideon Weed arrived in Seattle, in 1870, and for the next 26 years worked tirelessly in service to the town that he believed was "destined to become a great city with a great future.1"

Gideon enrolled at Dr. Russell Trall's Hygeio-Therapeutic College, New York City, New York, graduating in 1857. There, he met and married Adaline M. Willis, also a student.

From the start, the Weeds dedicated themselves to promoting equality and social justice, in addition to their medical practice. In Salem, Oregon Territory, in 1858, Adaline Weed’s attempts to practice hydropathic medicine, were met with local pushback, so they left for California.

Following several moves, including Gideon's regular medical education, at Rush Medical College, the Weed’s arrived in King County, Washington Territory, in 1870.

Dr. Weeds' involvement with the growing town of Seattle, and the Territory, were many. In, 1872, as Health Officer, under Mayor J.T. Jordan, Dr. Weed was responsible for establishing and implementing City Ordinance No. 30, aimed at curbing infectious diseases. To further promote public health, Dr Weed established Seattle's first private infirmary, in 1874,to provide medical services to the indigent, with the cooperation of King County officials.

In addition to appointed positions, Dr. Weed served back-to-back terms as Mayor of Seattle, in 1876 & 1877, being elected 'without any party affiliation,' a position in which he enthusiastically served, even without pay.

An active member of the medical community, Dr. Weed helped organize and found the Washington Territorial Medical Society, in 1873, serving as president, in 1879 and the King County Medical Society, in 1888, elected as its first president.

He also served as Regent of the growing Washington Territorial University, during which he, with other physicians, attempted to establish a Medical School, in 1885.

On or about December 2, 1889, the newly admitted state of Washington lost one its most respected citizens when Thomas Taylor Minor, M.D. was lost, off Whidbey Island, during a hunting trip with G. Morris Haller and Haller's brother-in-law, Lewis Cox. All three were drowned, presumably when their canoes overturned. His body was never recovered.

Dr. Minor, a graduate of Yale College, Medical Department, was a practicing physician, politician and businessman, in both Port Townsend and in Seattle. His accomplishments still echo throughout the state.

As a founding member of the King County Medical Society, he helped to create a qualified community of medical practitioners, in the growing pioneer town. And while still a Territorial University, Dr. Minor, a Regent, attempted to found a medical school with other local physicians, but lacked the sufficient number of students.

An active Republican, he became mayor of two of Puget Sound's cities: first, Port Townsend and then, Seattle. A respected politician, he was asked to participate as a Delegate to the Washington Territorial Constitutional Convention, resulting in Washington being admitted to the Union, as the 42nd state.

Dr. Minor excelled as a businessman, networking and partnering with business leaders to keep Seattle and Puget Sound growing. Among his accomplishments were the founding of the Puget Sound Telegraph Company; a syndicate owner in the merged Seattle Post-Intelligencer; vice president of the Seattle Lakeshore & Eastern Railroad - now a portion of the Burke-Gilman Trail.

Seattle and the state deeply mourned the loss of Dr. Minor, at the relatively young age of 45.

The rapidly growing Washington Territory, and Seattle, attempted to establish a medical school at the territorial university, in 1884.

As documented in "Thomas Prosch's Chronological History of Seattle from 1850 to 1897":

"The Regents of the University determined, if possible, to establish legal and medical departments in the fall of 1885. The necessary first steps were taken Oct. 15th, when Doctors T.T. Minor, Rufus Willard, Edward L. Smith, John Baker, Gideon A. Weed, C.H. Merrick, L.R. Dawson, John W. Waughop and John 0. Sundberg were constituted the faculty of the school of medicine… The course of the medical school was to cover three years. The first term was to begin Nov. 9th. Like many other ambitious efforts, the attempt was premature, and the school was never organized."

That outcome proved fortuitous. Abraham Flexner, an American educator, was given a mission to establish criteria and evaluate medical schools in the US and Canada. He made the following comments on the University of Washington’s decision to not establish a medical school, in his 1910 report: "Medical Education in the United States and Canada, a Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching", pg 150:

"(7) The three states on the Pacific coast, California, Oregon, Washington, are somewhat self-contained. They increased last year by 53,454 persons requiring 36 more physicians, 50 more would repair one half the losses by death, a total of 86. Available sites filling the essential requirements are Berkeley and Seattle… ...With unique wisdom the University of Washington and the physicians of Seattle1 have thus far refrained from starting a medical school in that state. They have held, and rightly, that in the present highly overcrowded condition of the profession on the coast, there is no need for an additional ordinary school; and the resources of the university are not yet adequate to a really creditable establishment. The field will therefore be kept clear until the university is in position to occupy it to advantage."

In 1916, a pre-med program was established by University of Washington President Henry Suzzallo, in a new attempt to set the stage for a medical school. He appointed faculty in anatomy, biochemistry, bacteriology, and pathology. The university board of regents, practicing physicians, and the state legislature all failed to support the idea.

¹ Copy of Extract of Minutes of the King County Medical Society State of Washington, June 20, 1904. Committee: On motion a committee consisting of F.H. Coe, P.W. Willis, and R.W. Schoenle was appointed to draw up suitable resolutions regarding the establishment of any medical preparatory course in the University of Washington, condemning the same and directed to the regents of the institution.

Early Physician-Regents of Washington Territorial University and University of Washington ¹

Weed, Gideon A.
Appointed: 1879
Expiration of Term: 1888

Minor, Thomas T.
Appointed: Jan 31, 1888
Expiration of Term: 1888

Shannon, William A.
Appointed: 1914
Expiration of Term: 1923

¹ Title: Three-Quarters of a Century At Washington, 1941,
Author: Dean Herbert T. Condon
Call Number: 979.7 W276aLt1

Collection: University of Washington Board of Regents records, 1862-1965 (bulk 1875-1951)
Accession No.: 78-103

Through this exhibit, you will be introduced to the region’s early physicians, medical facilities, public health initiatives, and health care history.

Founded in 1888, the King County Medical Society https://kcmsociety.org/ and its member physicians played important roles in establishing the region’s public health policies, hospitals, medical publications, and libraries. The Society also promoted and maintained high professional standards for medical practitioners and sought to assure the best possible health care for the residents of King County.

The founders and early members of KCMS were physician activists and educators, and many held leadership roles in areas outside medicine. They served as territorial and state university regents, participated in local and regional politics, and worked in new business ventures, the military, social clubs, and churches.

The present-day King County Medical Society continues its long tradition of high-quality medical practice and community engagement with close to 3,000 active members.

Smallpox, cholera, typhoid fever and tuberculosis were common diseases during the pioneer period and Seattle's early days. Diseased animals, including those identified in cities outside of Seattle as contaminated, were often sold locally, for human consumption, compounding the spread.

Vaccination programs were put in place to combat smallpox. In the early 20th century, like today, mandatory vaccinations for school children was met with opposition. The Seattle Health and Sanitation report for 1918 and 1919 blames the spread of a smallpox outbreak directly on the ‘the anti-vaccinationist and Christian Scientist’ who were able to have a bill passed preventing mandatory vaccination of school children.

As Seattle's population grew, so did the spread of venereal disease. In 1917, anyone found to be infected with a venereal disease, in particular near military encampments, was forcibly quarantined in a City Detention Hospital, until cured. Forced quarantine laws were widespread and backed by the State Supreme Court.

The following are highlights from early Seattle Health and Sanitation Department reports:

1890's

1890 - Typhoid epidemic - "There were so many cases of typhoid fever that the health officer could not visit and investigate them all. He concluded they were due to bad sewerage and filth."

1891 - Greatest death rate from typhoid fever was from the Lake Union District, in October. Many infants died from cholera infantum. NOTE: Residents and businesses around Lake Union dumped raw sewage while using the lake as city water supply.

1892 - Epidemic of La Grippe late 1891 to early 1892. Smallpox quarantine 'suspect house' set up to screen all incoming visitors... trains, boats, ferries

1893 - Measles made a reportable disease.

1895 - Scarlet fever epidemic, schools closed. Police enforce quarantine in front of infected homes. All school books were ordered destroyed to prevent spread of disease.

1896 - Outbreak of diphtheria in schools.

1897 - Dr SJ Holmes appointed first bacteriologist.

1898 - Denny school closed for a month due to outbreak of diphtheria. To prevent the spread of tuberculosis, the King County Medical Society requested that an ordinance be passed against expectorating in public and making TB reportable.

1900 - 1909

1900 - Dr SJ Holmes resigns as bacteriologist.

1901-02 Smallpox epidemic. Day and night guards placed in front of all homes infected with contagious diseases.

1902-03 Wayside Hospital established as emergency hospital (50 beds) to treat indigent at contract price of $200/mo.

1905-08 Sudden appearance of bubonic plague in October 1907. Leads to rat ordinance and rat trapping to track disease.

1909 - Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: typhoid fever outbreak due to contaminated water pumped from Lake Washington. Estimated that over 500 were sickened and over 60 died. News of the outbreak was suppressed in the media. City Emergency Hospital opens.

1910 - 1919

1910 - Seattle boasts of lowest death rate of all large cities in the world: 10.1 per 100,000

1914 - Marked increase in rabies. Tuberculosis is widespread. Dr Robert M Stith, in charge of TB, reports the willful disregard of public safety by many people with tuberculosis and who refuse treatment. Isolation Hospital, at Firland, completed. Hoboes and tramps living along railroad tracks by the river, determined to be a menace to the city water supply.

1916 - Infantile paralysis outbreak around the US is largely prevented, in Seattle, by Health Dept meeting trains to check arriving children. Extensive measles epidemic. Three cases of Leprosy found and deported.

1917 - Venereal disease control: Strict measures were put in place to control disease near military cantonments. Disorderly persons were arrested and sent for testing. Everyone testing positive for venereal disease, was sent to the city detention hospital and were held, until cured. Forced detention was challenged, but upheld, by the State Supreme Court (McBride Case.)

1918 - German measles epidemic, in early 1918.

1919 - Epidemic of mild smallpox. Detention Hospital for venereal disease quarantine closes, in August. Two large sewer projects completed at Alki and Rainier Beach.

1920 - 1929

1921 - Three year vaccination program stops epidemics: Jan 1919 - Dec 1921. Nearly 85% of milk supply was pasteurized. Population of 5000 persons living in houseboats on Lake Union constituted a sanitary hazard. (a proposal to remove them was not carried out.)

1922 - New chlorine plant erected on city watershed.

1924 - Well Baby clinic started in the Bon Marche - January 1. Three experimental sewage disposal plants built at the outfall of sewers into Lake Washington Sampling of water from Lake Washington at many points shows it to be grossly polluted.

1925 - Bon Marche Well Baby clinic discontinued due to lack of funds.

1926 - Epidemic of smallpox early in the year. Stopped by vaccination campaign - over 200,000 vaccinated. Chlorine boats put into operation at bathing beaches on Lake Washington.

1927 - State Supreme Court upholds City forcible quarantine detention regulations.

1930's - 1940's

1930 - Legal proceedings started to oust logging on Cedar River watershed to protect City water quantity and quality.

1936-1938 - Rabies continued to be a problem in animals.

1939-1942 - U.S. Public Health Service assists Seattle to reorganize venereal disease control division.

1943 - Aggressive anti-prostitution campaign begins due to increasing rates of venereal disease among local Army and Navy personnel. Federally funded detention and treatment centers opened for venereally infected women including educational and rehabilitation program deemed best in the country, in 1944.

1943 - Firland Tuberculosis Sanatorium expanded.

1943 - Outbreak of poliomyelitis in late summer.

References
Report of the Department of Health and Sanitation of the City of Seattle, 1939-1943
W2 AW2 S4r
Report of the Department of Health and Sanitation of the City of Seattle, 1911
W2 AW2 S4r

Guy Shearman Peterkin was an early pioneer in urology, living in Seattle, in the early 20th century. A presentation prepared by Peterkin consisting of antique and contemporary urological equipment, circa 1930, "Mechanics in Developing the Cystoscope," shows Peterkin’s holistic approach to his field.

Peterkin was a pillar in Seattle’s medical society with his involvement in the King County Medical Society, the Washington State Medical Association, the American Urological Association and other professional groups. He wrote extensively on the relationship between urology and psychoanalysis of venereal diseases, with special emphasis on scientific and ethical standards. Peterkin's contributions to urology came at a time when the medical specialization was expanding due to modifications of the cystoscope and development of drugs to treat syphilis.

Peterkin's legacy is overshadowed by his dramatic death, in which he shot and killed his son and himself, in a case of what he believed to be a mercy killing. Dr. Peterkin should be remembered, not as the eccentric who shot and killed his son, but as a noted pioneer physician and public health advocate.

Built in the 1890s, on the hull of the old steamship 'Idaho,' the Wayside Mission Hospital served the indigent population along Seattle's waterfront. The hospital was conceived and built by Dr. Alexander DeSoto, son of a Spanish general, and Capt. Amos O. Benjamin, pioneer and shipmaster. Dr. DeSoto was viewed by many in the community as a philanthropist for his charitable work.

Portrait of Dr. Alexander de Soto, ca. 1885

The hospital was moored near the foot of Main St. and was supported by citizens who banded together under the name of the Seattle Benevolent Society. An article in the The Seattle Republican, April 10, 1903, reported that the Seattle City Council, that year, authorized only 'seventy-five cents a day, for three days, for all sick or injured persons requiring care.' The hospital moved to a land-based facility, in 1907. A Historical Marker along the waterfront (near where the Hwy 99 tunnel is stalled) identifies the spot where the 'Idaho' lies buried beneath the fill dirt.

Dr. DeSoto was working as a dietician at age 96, when he fell into Manhattan's East River, in November, while boarding a yacht.

Entrance to Wayside Mission Hospital housed in the steamboat IDAHO, Seattle, Washington, ca. 1900

National Register of Historic Places - August 3, 1984

The Territorial University of Washington was established in 1861 on Denny's Knoll in Seattle, a ten acre parcel of land donated by Arthur A. Denny, Charles Terry, and Edward Lander. In 1894, the University of Washington relocated to its present site and the Board of Regents awarded a lease to develop and manage the Metropolitan Tract to James Moore, who transferred the lease to the Metropolitan Building Company in 1907. The Cobb Building was constructed, in 1910.

The Cobb Building was intended, as the plaque of Hippocrates at its main entrance denotes, for medical and dental offices. Contemporary journals identified it as the first building in Seattle, and perhaps the West, to be designed for a single professional use, an innovation that generated a great deal of publicity. Time and commercial pressures have led to redevelopment of the sites that once hosted the other original parts of the Metropolitan Tract, but the Cobb Building continues to look much as it has for more than 90 years.¹

The Cobb Building is located at 1301 Fourth Ave.

¹ National Parks Service, http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/seattle/s17.htm

Louis Dechmann was born in Germany about 1865, came to Washington State from Brooklyn, New York, in 1909, and resided chiefly in Seattle until 1923. A self-proclaimed physician and biologist, between 1910 and 1919 he published a number of books and pamphlets on healing through diet and hygiene, eugenics, influenza, and other health-related topics.

Dechmann founded Qui Si Sana, a naturopathic facility, about 1912 and attracted clients, many of them women, with a regimen of hydrotherapy and careful diet. He became involved in a dispute with a neighbor over water rights and was also accused of having pro-German sympathies by local residents and Seattle authorities. The resort, renamed Eugenika about 1917, was closed in 1918. The site eventually became a county park, Camp David.

Qui Si Sana Sanatorium and Biological Institution, dock and cabins as seen from Lake Crescent, 1913

For many, Dr. James B. Eagleson is remembered in the iconic, 1889, post-Seattle fire image of Dr.’s Eagleson and Smith physician's & surgeon’s office, in a tent, on 3rd and Columbia. A military physician & surgeon, Dr. Eagleson left a lasting legacy, in Seattle, and the Puget Sound.

Doctors providing medical services in tent after the fire of June 6, 1889

Born in Chillicothe, OH, in 1862, James Eagelson’s parents steered him towards a life as a minister. But, in his teens, he began to study medicine under the guidance of a local physician, ultimately graduating from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Chicago, in 1885. For the next year, he practiced as an intern at the U.S. Marine Hospital, in Chicago.

He successfully sought orders to move west. Writing in his journal, Friday, Aug 20, '86: "I received my order to go to Port Townsend today." He was just shy of his 24th bday. By August, 1887, he received official appointment as Acting Assistant Surgeon, Marine Hospital Service, at a salary of $600 per annum and a letter from the Surgeon General to proceed to Seattle to establish the station there.

In Seattle, Dr. Eagleson visited Providence and Grace hospitals to contract for medical treatment of seamen under the Marine Hospital Service, and entered into partnership with Dr. T. T. Minor.

Dr. Eagleson’s accomplishments included: founded the medical journal Northwest Medicine; charter member of King County Medical Society and the newly formed Washington State Medical Association; organized Base Hospital 50 (WWI); served on city and state public health boards; on governing board of the YMCA.

Base Hospital 50 camp, with tents in background, Mesves, France, ca. 1918-1919

Dr. Eagleson was a highly respected physician, surgeon, military officer and religious leader. He always worked to build a better community, until his death, in 1928.

Mabel Seagrave was an accomplished Seattle physician. Born, in 1885, Mabel graduated Wellesley College (1905) and Johns Hopkins University (1911).

She worked at King County Hospital and Seattle General Hospital where she served on the Board of Trustees. Dr. Seagrave was also elected as a member of the American College of surgeons.

She is known for her work with the Overseas Hospital Service, in Southern France, during World War I, treating influenza patients. For her service, Dr. Seagrave received the French Medal of Honor under the French Service de Sante. Her time in France is documented in her photo album, in Special Collections.

Dr. Seagrave died, in Seattle, in 1935.

Dr. Mabel Seagrave operating on a soldier, probably France, 1918-1919

Dr. Mabel Seagrave, ca. 1915

Alice Smith was born in 1868. As a physician, Dr. Smith was an active member in the American Medical Association, an officer in Washington State Medical Societies and in the Woman's Legislative League of Washington.

Dr. Smith practiced medicine in Tacoma for more than 40 years. Her active participation in various state and national medical organizations brought her into contact with many of Seattle’s leading physicians. A contemporary of Dr. G. S. Peterkin, she was an advocate for controlling the spread of syphilis, a venereal disease that led to forced quarantine of infected prostitutes, and their customers, in Washington, during WWI and WWII. In Volume 14 of the 1906 Medical Sentinel, Dr. Smith writes about her experiences with pre-natal and the post-natal syphilitic mortality and the treatments used in attempts to save newborn lives.

Dr. Smith was also a writer and member of the League of Women Writers. She wrote under the pseudonyms of Alice Smith Scoville, Sutton Broome, Smith Sutton Brome, Scovill Smith and Scovill Smith Brome. Many of her manuscripts can be found in the UW Special Collections.

Reference
Alice Maude Smith Papers
Accession No.: 4155-1

This medical bag and its contents, tell the story of a specific rural doctor, John Francis McKie, who practiced in Wessington and in Sturgis, South Dakota, ca 1910, until his death, in 1948. The details of Dr. McKie’s life, and how his bag found its way to the University of Washington, is a story that continues to unfold. The contents of his medical bag however, illuminate the typical practice of a rural Midwest doctor during the early part of the 20th century.

Dr. McKie Timeline¹:

• 1882 Born Sept 4, 1882, in Iowa; Attended Tarkio College
• 1910 Graduated University of Chicago, Rush Medical College; lists home as Northboro, IA
• 1918 Assigned to Fort Oglethorpe, SD, for instruction – Rank: Captain, Medical Reserve Corps
• 1948 Died Sept 2, 1948; Buried: Hot Springs National Cemetery, Fall River Co., SD

Dr. Smith was also a writer and member of the League of Women Writers. She wrote under the pseudonyms of Alice Smith Scoville, Sutton Broome, Smith Sutton Brome, Scovill Smith and Scovill Smith Brome. Many of her manuscripts can be found in the UW Special Collections.

¹ South Dakota State Archives

The UW's School of Medicine was founded in 1946 as the 76th medical school in the United States. Today, it is a leader in both research and primary care. It is also one of the top recipients of federal researching funding.

In 1946, when the first class entered, students numbered 50. Forty-four of the original class received their degree four years later. Three of the 44 from the first class were women. Today women comprise nearly 60% of the School's enrollment. Despite its modest beginning, and late start, today nearly 1,000 students are enrolled and the UW Medical School is one of the largest in the U.S.

Puget Sound milestones from the past sixty-five years include five recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for area researchers E. Donnall Thomas (bone marrow transplantation, 1990); Edmond Fischer and Edwin Krebs (protein phosphorylation, 1992); Leland Hartwell (abnormal cell growth, 2001); and Linda Buck (olfactory system discoveries, 2004).

Seattle is recognized as implementing the first Medic One program. Founded in 1969, the system greatly improved survival rates of heart attack victims. The region is also renowned for its advances in kidney dialysis, heart surgery, transplantation and medical genetics.

In 1971, recognizing the need for primary care physicians was growing, the UW received funding to start the WAMI Program (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) which created opportunities for training physicians around the greater Pacific Northwest. Wyoming joined the consortium in 1996. The UW later began working with Washington State University (WSU) to train medical students in Eastern Washington.

Senator Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA) in particular has left a lasting legacy on healthcare in Seattle. In 1937, he introduced a bill to establish the National Cancer Institute, which led to the founding of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 1975. The UW’s Health Sciences Center bears his name in honor of his contributions to the region.

Over 150 years after the Territorial University was founded – which referenced medical training in its original articles of incorporation – the need for primary care physicians in our state is greater than ever. WSU is establishing the state’s second medical school and plans to accept its charter class for entrance in the fall of 2017.

Charles W. Bodemer, PhD., joined the faculty of the University of Washington in 1956. Bodemer's greatest contribution to the University of Washington came from his work with the UW School of Medicine's Department of Biomedical History, which he founded in 1967 and chaired until his death in 1985. He was a highly regarded speaker on the history of medicine.

Dr. Bodemer was also a prolific writer and collector. He was well known to many physicians, many who were also medical historians. This exhibit incorporates a sampling of photographs, articles and instruments collected by Dr. Bodemer throughout his career.