Records from the Great Depression
Cath Madden Trindle
Historical Records Survey (WPA)
1935-1943 NARA RG69.5.6
The Historical Records Survey was organized under the
direction of Luther H Evans as part of the Federal Writer’s Project on 16th Nov 1935. It became an independent division of
Federal Project 1 in October of 1936. In 1939 projects were handed off to
state and local governments with oversight by the WPA’s Research and Records
Program, Professional and Service Division.
Never eager to recreate what someone else
has done well, I suggest you read Bryan Mulcahy’s Work’s Progress Administration (WPA) – Historical Records Survey for a good background of the Survey, a listing of
its objectives and an overview of the records useful for genealogical research.
Some California materials are listed below. Most are online, click on any
link to go to an online description or publication.
California Historical Records Survey
§ Published County
Surveys.
§ Alameda (#1)
§ Los Angeles (#20)
§ San Bernardino
(#37) (F)
§ San Diego (#38)
§ San Francisco (#39)
§ Santa Barbara (#43)
§ Ventura (#57)
§ Unpublished County
Records Survey Materials
§ The California State
Archives (Northern CA)
§ Los Angeles County
Museum, Los Angeles, California (Southern California materials)
§ Archives and Libraries
§ List of the Letters
and Documents of Rulers and Statesmen in the William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library (University of California at Los Angeles
§ Miscellaneous
§ Records of the San
Francisco office of the Survey of Federal Archives, consisting of survey sheets
§ Records relating to
the WPA Ships Registry Project for ships registered between 1850 and 1910 at
the port of San Francisco
§ Records of Hope L.
Cahill, director of the Division of Professional Service Projects, and state
director, Division of Community Service Programs\.
§ Records of the
Division of Professional and Service Projects, Northern California office, San
Francisco, 1939-42 relating to programs, activities, and achievements. Included
are records concerning:
§ Golden Gate
International Exposition (Treasure Island, 1939)
§ “This Work Pays Your
Community” Week
§ District Commissioner
of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The records include
correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs and speeches.
§ Records of the Survey
of Federal Archives, 1936-41. (See publications above)
§ Microfilm T935 – T937, Index to Reference Cards for
Work Projects Administration Project Files, 1935-42(selected rolls)
§ NARA – Washington DC
Online publications are available through
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