This collection documents the Knox County Health Department during most of the 20th century. It includes material like vital statistic reports, notes, photographs, scrapbooks, slides, disease studies, publications, and administrative files. The bulk of the collection is composed of news articles collected in scrapbooks dating from 1931 to 1991 and vital statistics showing Knoxville, Knox County, and Tennessee between 1909 and 1996.

The collection is arranged into six topical series-

Series I: Vital Statistics (1874-1996) contains reports published by both the Knox County Health Department (Sub-Series A) and the state of Tennessee (Sub-Series B). The items in Sub-Series A are a mix of annual reports, local disease studies, sanitation surveys, health condition assessments, and ambulatory care reports. Annual reports, studies on industrial hygiene, and community sanitation plans are also found in this sub-series. The majority of the items in Sub-Series B are Tennessee vital and morbidity statistics reports ranging from 1927 to 1996. This sub-series also includes "The Early History of the Tennessee Department of Public Health" which chronicles state health services from 1876 to 1909.

Series II: Reports and Publications (1935-1992) houses Board of Health Minutes from 1935 to 1992 (Sub-Series A); Board of Health Regulations from 1949 to 1987 (Sub-Series B); brochures published from 1937 to 1964 (Sub-Series C); and Yearbooks dating from 1977 (Sub-Series D).

Series III: Visual Materials (circa 1930-1985) contains photographs, proofs, negatives, and slides from the Health Department depicting a wide variety of scenes, including a slaughter house, health examinations, dental examinations, waste disposal, and public outreach events.

Series IV: Scrapbooks (1930-1991) contains scrapbooks filled with news clippings and photographs documenting the work of the Health Department. The majority of the scrapbooks contain news articles from a single year arranged according to topic. A few of the scrapbooks focus on a single health issue, for example seatbelts and children's health.

Series V: Administrative Files (1877-1998) houses administrative records created by the Health Department. These items include Topical Filings (Sub-Series A); Newsletters (Sub Series B); Personal Files, largely from the files of Dr. A. G. Hufstedler (Sub-Series C); Manuals (Sub-Series D); and Other Files (Sub-Series E). Series VI: Oversized Materials contains large format items from the collection.