Rochester Department of Health & Milk Inspection Collection

This collection consists of materials related to the Rochester Bureau of Health and its Milk Inspection program. Dr. George W. Goler, Rochester' Public Health Officer, led a Clean Milk campaign between 1892 and 1904. Milk, despite its ubiquity in the American diet, has high potential for both adulteration and carrying disease. This campaign utilized a system of inspectors to ensure that milk was only produced from healthy cows under clean conditions, and that the milk was shipped in sterile conditions. It did not involve pasteurization. At one point, the City of Rochester itself even went into the milk business, creating and demonstrating a model milk distribution system. Over the course of the campaign, it was believed to be responsible for a minimum 40% reduction in the infant death rate in Rochester, and it influenced the national campaign for pure milk laws.

As part of this campaign, a milk inspection service was created to watch over and ensure the purity of the milk coming into Rochester. William O. Marshall was installed as chief milk inspector in June 1901. He was responsible for ensuring that sick animals were not used for milk, that milk from the animals of families with active cases of communicaable diseases was not sold, and that dairying conditions were clean and sanitary. The system of inspection and maintaining pure milk did not rely on pasteurization, but rather on maintaining clean conditions and montoring bacteria counts in milk samples. Born in Ogden, New York, Marshall moved to Rochester in 1891. He became a sanitary inspector for the City of Rochester in 1895 before transferring to the Health Bureau as a milk inspector, leading to his nearly 15 year tenure as chief milk inspector soon after. A Mason and member of the Methodist Church, Marshall lived at 238 Garson Avenue with his wife and four daughters. Upon his death on February 2, 1916, he was buried in Spencerport.