Exhibit Guide: The Legacy of Public Health in Our Region

Professor of pathology; Dean of Wake Forest Medical School; Secretary of the N.C. State Board of Health; Director of the Hospital and Orphan Section of the Duke Endowment. Correspondence, legal and financial papers, memorabilia, speeches, clippings, printed materials, photographs, and a diary, all relating to the life and career of Dr. Watson Smith Rankin. Correspondence is chiefly between Dr. Rankin and his son, Jesse, friends and other relatives, and professional colleagues; much of the material concerns administrative aspects of medicine related to the Duke Endowment and the State Board of Health. Many of the writings, lectures, and speeches discuss hospital reform, and some concern philosophical and religious issues. There are also financial papers and biographical information. Also includes a 1932 report by the Commission on the Costs of Medical Care, entitled "An outline program of medical care for the People of the United States.

Camp Greene was a training camp for American soldiers during World War I, 1917-1918. Located about three miles west of uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, it quickly grew to surpass the population size of the city, reaching 60,000 troops at its height.
The majority of soldiers came from the northern states, in particular Massachusetts, and although segregated, included both black and white troops. The first troops arrived in September 1917, and continued to arrive until the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.
Camp Greene closed shortly thereafter, and all structures and furnishings were to be removed by March 1919.
This collection includes printed materials and publications.

This collection contains correspondence, newsletters, publications, photographs, postcards, posters, and artifacts.

This collection belonged to Dr. George M. Cooper (1876-1950), a pioneer public health official who was associated with the North Carolina State Board of Health for thirty five years. On May 1, 1915, Dr. Cooper was named head of the State Board of Health's Department of Rural Sanitation. By 1917 he had become the Director of the Bureau of Medical Inspection of Schools. In 1931 he attained the position of Director of the Division of Preventive Medicine. The Cooper Memorial Building on McDowell Street, which houses the Division of Health Services, Department of Human Resources, in Raleigh, is named in his honor. The collection consists of photographs taken in conjunction with Dr. George M. Cooper's public health career. The majority of the pictures show dental and tonsil and adenoid clinic locations throughout the state.