About Item:

Paul Revere served as the president of the Boston Board of Health in 1799 and 1800. So he, along with other citizens, made decisions about the public’s health and well-being. This privy notice is an early example of the Board trying to keep the streets and yards of Boston clean. They didn’t fully understand how waste could make people sick, but they knew that being around it was not a good idea. Why do you think the Board of Health ordered people to empty out their privies during certain times of the year? (hint: think about Boston weather).

Read full transcription here

Read modernized transcription here

Glossary Terms:

• Board of Health—a group in Boston who made decisions to try and keep the citizens of the town healthy and clean
• Privy—An outhouse or bathroom
• Inhabitants—people who live in a place
• Publication—made public so everyone can read it
• Licensed—permitted or allowed
• Therefor—for the purpose of
• Hogshead—The name for a specific size of barrel. A hogshead contains about 300 L (or about 79 US gallons)