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Florida Historical Records Survey files, 1936-1938.
Amount:
.25 cubic ft.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement:
Arranged by creating agency division.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:
The Historical Records Survey (HRS) was a federal work relief program designed to identify and preserve historical records throughout the nation. Administered through the Federal Writers Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, HRS activities included transcribing original documents, creating soundexes for federal censuses, and publishing lists of cemetery records, historic maps, school records and military records. They also conducted hands-on surveys of local, state, and national records to identify series for archiving. On the state level, the HRS was administered through the Florida Writers Project and the State Library Board. Administrative costs were shared by the state and Federal government. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created by the Federal government in 1935 as part of a massive work-relief program -- known as the New Deal -- to combat the Great Depression. Employing over 8.5 million out of work people before its dissolution in 1943, the WPA was involved in hundreds of national, state, and local projects. Projects included published works, art projects, theatre, conservation and construction projects, and education. Workers were usually paid between $60 and $115 a month, depending upon the work and hours involved. In 1939, the WPA changed its name to Works Projects Administration.
The State Library Board was created on June 4, 1925 by an act of the Legislature which replaced the old State Library and gave the new one operating authority under the State Library Board. (Ch. 10278, Laws). The first three member-board was appointed in 1927 and headed by a Chairman. It was authorized to appoint a Secretary to "act as Librarian of the State Library...who shall have charge of the work in organizing and conducting the State Library...[and] in organizing new libraries and improving those already established." Predating the Florida State Archives, the State Library pursued the collection of many historical documents and manuscripts related to Florida. The Depository Service was initiated in 1931 to receive material of archival importance and in 1935 State Librarian William T. Cash became the Director of the WPA Archives Survey for Florida.
Summary:
This is a fragmentary series of state records surveys of the Florida Historical Records Survey created between 1936 and 1938, consisting of only three folders which describe the Florida Department of Agriculture records stored in the State Capitol. No other state department is represented in the surveys. Each survey form lists the series title, content, creating agency, date range, quantity, arrangement, and other pertinent information. The surveys are of particular interest to historians for they describe the provenance, arrangement, and content of agricultural and land records of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many of which no longer exist. Included are descriptions of administrative and correspondence files for the Surveyor General, land records such as plats, maps, land claims, and field notes, and records for the Field Note Division of the Department of Agriculture. The surveys also provide evidence of both Florida participants in the WPA and the types of work relief activities performed in the 1930s as part of the New Deal. Included on each form is the name of the WPA worker and the date the work was performed. All of the survey forms in this series were created in Tallahassee.
Finding Aids:
Folder listing available.
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Associated Materials:
Series S 1654, State Library Project papers, and S 1505, State Librarian William T. Cash administrative files, contain more information on the State Library Board's activities with the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). Record Group 598 contains more information on the State Land Office. Record Group 200 contains more information on the Florida Department of Agriculture. Records of the Historical Records Survey at the national level are housed at the National Archives within Record Group 69.
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Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields:
United States. Work Projects Administration. State Library of Florida. Florida. Dept. of Agriculture. Florida. State Land Office.
New Deal, 1933-1939. Archives Florida Records management. Surveyors Florida Land use Florida Land grants Florida
Surveys. aat
Tallahassee (Fla.)
for detailed listing.