Historical Records Survey facts for kids
The Historical Records Survey (often called HRS) was a special project in the United States. It was part of a bigger government program called the New Deal, which helped people during the Great Depression. The HRS was created to find, organize, and list important historical documents in places like state and local archives (which are like big storage places for old papers). Its main goal was to "discover, preserve, and list basic materials for research in the history of the United States."
How the Historical Records Survey Was Set Up
Starting the Project: A New Deal Effort
The Historical Records Survey began on November 15, 1935. It was first part of the Federal Writers' Project, another New Deal program. The HRS had a budget of about $1.2 million and was led by Luther H. Evans.
Becoming Independent and Moving On
In October 1936, the HRS became its own separate part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was a huge government program that created jobs for many people. Later, in 1939, the HRS moved again within the WPA. This happened because some other artistic federal programs were being criticized. The HRS was seen as less controversial. The entire program officially ended on February 1, 1943.
Working with States and Volunteers
From 1939, the federal government started letting state governments take over the HRS activities. Each state had its own supervisor to manage the work. The main office for the HRS was in Washington, D.C.. They often worked closely with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and state archive groups. Sometimes, they even teamed up with volunteer groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution, who were interested in local history and family research.
Why the HRS Was Important
Many people thought the HRS was one of the most effective and affordable New Deal projects. However, because the program didn't last very long, many of the lists and indexes they created were never fully published. This means some of their valuable work is still scattered in different local and state record offices.
What the Historical Records Survey Achieved
Finding and Listing County Records
One of the biggest things the HRS did was the Survey of County Records. Workers found, identified, organized, and described huge amounts of public records kept in county archives. This led to the publication of about 628 volumes (or books) of these inventories.
Other Key Projects and Discoveries
The HRS also worked on several other important projects:
- Survey of Federal Archives: This project looked at records held by the federal government itself.
- Survey of Church Records: They also surveyed and listed records from churches.
- American Imprints Inventory: This project focused on listing early American books and printed materials.
Creating Useful Indexes and Lists
The HRS created many helpful indexes and lists that are still used today:
- Census Indexes: They made special "soundex" indexes for several U.S. Census records from the late 1800s and early 1900s (like 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920). A soundex index helps you find names that sound similar, even if they're spelled differently.
- Vital Statistics: They indexed important records like births, deaths, and marriages.
- Other Indexes: They also created indexes for books, bibliographies (lists of books), cemeteries, and newspapers.
- Special Projects: The HRS worked on unique projects like the Atlas of Congressional Roll Calls (a history of how members of Congress voted), a historical index of American musicians, surveys of portraits in public buildings, and records about ships and the sea. They even had a food history project called America Eats!
New Ways to Preserve History
The Survey also helped improve how old records were kept. For example, they used new microfilm technology. Microfilm is a way to store documents on tiny film rolls, which saves space and helps preserve them. The HRS experimented with microfilm and helped make it a common practice for archiving important papers.
