National Archives at Philadelphia

Home > The National Archives at Philadelphia > Guide to Archival Holdings at the National Archives at Philadelphia > Record Groups 104 - 188

Record Groups 104 - 188

Guide to Archival Holdings at the National Archives at Philadelphia

Record Group 104
Records of the U.S. Mint

Administrative History
The Bureau of the Mint, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of February 12, 1873, succeeded the Mint of the United States, founded in 1792 at Philadelphia, and continued there after the Federal Government moved to Washington, DC, in 1800. Originally an independent agency, by 1857 the Mint had become responsible to the Department of the Treasury. The Mint has been responsible for manufacturing coins; for receiving, storing, and selling gold and silver bullion; for assaying and refining; and for a variety of functions, such as inspections and gathering statistics. The Mint has operated mints in several cities, as well as assay offices and bullion depositories.

Records Description
Dates: 1791-1971
Volume: 335 cubic feet

Records of the U.S. Mint, Philadelphia. The records relate to general superintendence of the entire U.S. Mint service, 1791- 1873, and to coinage, assaying, and other operations of the Philadelphia Mint, 1794-1971. Included are account books, correspondence, ledgers, minutes, registers, and reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 1 through 211 in Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of the Mint, NC 152 (1958).

 

Record Group 111
Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Administrative History
The Signal Corps, administered by the Chief Signal Officer, was provisionally established by War Department General Order 73 of March 24, 1863. The Office of the Chief Signal Officer was placed under the jurisdiction of Services of Supply (later designated Army Service Forces) in 1942; under the General Staff of the War Department in 1946; and under the General Staff of the Department of the Army in 1947. In 1964, the Office of the Chief Signal Officer became the Office of the Chief of Communications Electronics.

Records Description
Dates: 1941-1954
Volume: 21 cubic feet

Records of the following signal offices:

  • Baltimore Signal Depot, Baltimore, 1944-1954;
  • Fort Holabird Signal Depot, Baltimore, 1941-1948;
  • Philadelphia Signal Depot, Philadelphia, 1941-1947;
  • Signal Procurement District, Philadelphia, 1942-1950;
  • Stock Control Agency, Philadelphia, 1945-1950.

The records relate to administration; procurement, repair, and distribution of photographic, radar, and telephone equipment; and training of personnel. Included are correspondence, memorandums, orders, and publications. Nontextual records include photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 112
Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army)

Administrative History
The Office of the Surgeon General was established by an act of April 14, 1818. It is the headquarters of the Army Medical Department whose mission is to maintain the health of the Army and conserve its fighting strength. Components of the Office include the Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Army Nurse Corps, and Army Medical Specialist Corps.

Records Description
Dates: 1950-1966
Volume: 12 cubic feet

Records of the following medical facilities:

  • Dunham Army Hospital, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, 1951-1963;
  • Kenner Army Hospital, Fort Lee, Virginia, 1950-1966;
  • McDonald Army Hospital, Fort Eustis, Virginia, 1952-1966;
  • 322nd Medical Depot, Norristown, Pennsylvania, 1962;
  • Valley Forge General Hospital, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, 1950-1965.

The records document hospital administration and operations, including the local work of the Red Cross. Included are circulars, correspondence, orders, reports, and unit histories.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 114
Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Administrative History
The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) was established in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1935, replacing the Soil Erosion Service which had been established in 1933, and acquiring duties from other Government agencies. In 1937, it began to provide technical and other assistance to farmers in soil conservation districts organized under State laws. In 1938, the SCS was given responsibility for farm forestry programs; in 1944, it was given responsibility for assisting in water conservation programs; and in 1952, it was authorized to assume the soil survey previously run by other USDA units. The SCS conducts soil and snow surveys, river basin surveys, and investigations and watershed activities; assists local groups in planning and developing land and water resources; and gives technical help to landowners and operators who participate in USDA's agricultural conservation, cropland conversion, and cropland adjustment programs.

In 1935, regional offices were established to supervise conservation work in large geographic areas and in 1938 1939 area offices were created to assist the regional offices. State offices replaced area offices in 1942. Regional offices were discontinued in 1954, and the SCS now relies on State offices to give technical and administrative supervision to local units.

Records Description
Dates: 1936-1975
Volume: 139 cubic feet

Records of the Northeastern Region (Region 1), Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, 1936-1944, including State, area, and project offices in Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, and selected Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The records document such topics as agronomy, CCC work, conservation, drought relief, erosion control, forestry, land utilization, project engineering and administration, range and wildlife conservation, and site administration. They consist of correspondence, fiscal records, new clippings, project files, publications, reports, and subject files. Nontextual records include blueprints, maps, and photographs.

Records of the West Virginia State Office, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1955-1975. The records relate to planning and construction projects at the Salem Fork of the Ten Mile Creek and Patterson Creek, both part of the Potomac River Watershed Project. They consist of project files. Nontextual records include engineering drawings.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 155, 159 through 161, 163, 174, 176, and 178 in Guy A. Lee and Freeland F. Penney, comps., Preliminary Checklist of the Records of the Soil Conservation Service, 1928-1943, PC 52 (1947).

 

Record Group 118
Records of United States Attorneys

Administrative History
The Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789, made provision for U.S. attorneys and marshals who are appointed by the President and have functioned under the general supervision of the Department of Justice since its creation in 1870. U.S. attorneys investigate violations of Federal criminal laws, present evidence to grand juries, prosecute Federal criminal cases, and serve as the Federal Government's attorney in civil litigation in which the United States is involved or has an interest.

Records Description
Dates: 1911-1985
Volume: 462 cubic feet

Records of U.S. Attorneys for:

  • Delaware, 1940-1981;
  • Maryland, 1933-1973;
  • Pennsylvania, Eastern District, 1911-1982;
  • Pennsylvania, Middle District, 1919-1980;
  • Pennsylvania, Western District, 1964-1981;
  • Virginia, Eastern District, Alexandria, Newport News, and Norfolk Divisions, 1949-1961;
  • Virginia, Western District, Roanoke Division, 1963;
  • West Virginia, Northern District, Wheeling Division, 1982-1985.

Records relate to bribery, civil rights, conspiracy, draft evasion, fraud, internal revenue and firearms laws, and school desegregation. They generally include attorneys' work papers, copies of papers filed in Federal court (see RG 21 for the originals), correspondence with the Department of Justice and other Government agencies, investigative reports, newspaper clippings, and trial notes. Nontextual records include photographs and other exhibit material.

Finding Aids
List of cases for each court.

Related Microfilm Publications
M699, Letters Sent by the Department of Justice: General and Miscellaneous, 1818-1904.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to law enforcement and/or privacy concerns.

Record Group 119
Records of the National Youth Administration

Administrative History
The National Youth Administration (NYA) was established within the Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration by an Executive order of June 26, 1935. In 1939, it was transferred to the new Federal Security Agency, and in 1942 was moved to the War Manpower Administration. By the end of 1944, it had been liquidated under authority of an act of July 12, 1943.

The NYA conducted two major employment-training programs for needy young people between the ages of 16 and 24. The agency was headed by an administrator, who determined basic policies with the assistance of an advisory committee appointed by the President. Operations in the field were directed by a network of regional, State, and area offices, assisted at each level by advisory committees.

Records Description
Dates: 1938-1943
Volume: 3 cubic feet

Records of Region 2 offices, 1938-1943. The records relate to facilities and supplies, health and vocational training programs, national/international youth movements, and project work. They are correspondence, news clippings, and speeches. Records of the Region 3 administrator, 1942-1943. The records relate to most aspects of NYA regional activities and include correspondence, reports, and speeches.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 333 through 335, and 339 in Virgil E. Baugh, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Youth Administration, NC 35 (1963).

 

Record Group 121
Records of the Public Buildings Service

Administrative History
Federal construction activities outside the District of Columbia were performed by individual agencies and, to some extent, by special commissions and officers appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury until 1853, when a Construction Branch was created in the Department of the Treasury. The Branch later became the Bureau of Construction in the Office of the Supervising Architect, and that office, in turn, was transferred in 1933 to the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division. The Public Buildings Administration was created in the Federal Works Agency in 1939 by consolidating the Public Buildings Branch and the National Park Service's Branch of Buildings Management. The latter branch had inherited responsibilities for Federal construction in the District of Columbia from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol.

An act of June 30, 1949, abolished the Public Buildings Administration and transferred its functions to the newly established General Services Administration (GSA). The Public Buildings Service was established December 11, 1949, by the Administrator of General Services to assume the functions once assigned to the Public Buildings Administration.

The Public Buildings Service designs, constructs, manages, maintains, and protects most Federally-owned and -leased buildings. It is also responsible for the acquisition, utilization, and custody of GSA real and related personal property.

Records Description
Dates: 1900-1901
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot

Records of construction of the post office, Annapolis, Maryland, 1900-1901. The records document the construction superintendent's description of the site construction and include one volume of letters and vouchers.

Finding Aids
Entry 22 in Virgil E. Baugh and W. Lane Van Neste, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Public Buildings Service, PI 110 (1958).

 

Record Group 127
Records of the U.S. Marine Corps

Administrative History
The U.S. Marine Corps was created by an act of July 11, 1798, which authorized the Commandant of the Corps to appoint an adjutant, a paymaster, and a quartermaster. Around those three staff officers and the Commandant the branches of Marine Corps Headquarters developed. Although the Corps was at first subject to both Army and Navy regulations, an act of June 30, 1834, placed it under exclusive U.S. Navy control except for units detached by Presidential order for Army service. A staff system in the Headquarters organization was begun in 1918 when the first of many sections and divisions was created in the Office of the Commandant. When Headquarters was reorganized along General Staff lines in 1952, the Division of Plans and Policies was abolished and its sections, G-1 through G-4, were elevated to divisional status under assistant chiefs of staff.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for all administrative and operational matters affecting the Corps. These include providing amphibious forces for service with the fleet in seizing and defending advanced naval bases, and conducting land operations essential to a naval campaign. Other duties include providing detachments to serve on naval ships and to protect property of naval activities.

Records Description
Dates: 1817-1934
Volume: 40 cubic feet

Records of the Marine Barracks, Norfolk, Virginia, 1817-1915, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1825-1911. The records document activities at the barracks and include correspondence; daily, guard, and morning reports; and orders.

Records of the Marine Depot of Supplies, Philadelphia, 1921- 1934. The records relate to purchases of services and supplies for marines in Haiti and Nicaragua. They are account sheets, correspondence, receipts, and vouchers.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 106 through 113 in Fred G. Halley, comp., Preliminary Checklist of the Records of the United States Marine Corps, PC 50 (1946).

 

Record Group 136
Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service

Administrative History
The Agricultural Marketing Service was established in the Department of Agriculture in 1939 to consolidate agricultural marketing and related activities such as collecting and interpreting agricultural statistics, performing market inspection and grading services, and establishing official grade standards for many farm products. Its predecessors included the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The service was discontinued in 1942 and its functions performed by other agencies. A new Agricultural Marketing Service was established in 1953 and was renamed the Consumer and Marketing Service between 1965 and 1972.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1961
Volume: 7 cubic feet

Records of the Livestock Division, Philadelphia.The records relate to marketing research and services associated with dairy and poultry products. They are reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 145
Records of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service

Administrative History
The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) had its beginnings in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) established in the Department of Agriculture under the Adjustment Act of May 12, 1933. After numerous changes by statute and reorganizations by the Department of Agriculture, the ASCS was established on June 5, 1961.

The ASCS is the agency that administers commodity and related land use programs designed for voluntary production adjustment, resource protection, and price, market, and farm income stabilization.

Records Description
Dates: 1977-1978
Volume: 1 cubic foot

Records of Pennsylvania County Committees. The records relate to Federal agricultural legislation, feed grain and wheat crops, Federal loans available from the Department of Agriculture, disaster programs, and yield and acreage. Included are monthly meeting minutes and reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 146
Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission

Administrative History
The U.S. Civil Service Commission was authorized to establish a merit system under which selections for Government service appointments would be based on applicants' demonstrated relative fitness. On January 1, 1979, many of the functions of the Commission were taken over by the Office of Personnel Management.

Records Description
Dates: 1942-1971
Volume: 17 cubic feet

Records of the regional office, Philadelphia, with jurisdiction over offices in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The records relate to Federal personnel councils, boards of examiners, and merit programs. Included are correspondence, memorandums, minutes, and news clippings.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 147
Records of the Selective Service System, 1940-

Administrative History
An Executive order of September 23, 1940, established the Selective Service System to provide an orderly, just, and democratic method of obtaining men for military and naval service. Except between December 5, 1942, and December 5, 1943, when it was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Manpower Commission, the System was responsible to the President.

The System operated through a director and national headquarters, regional boards, State headquarters, medical and registrant advisory boards, boards of appeal, and local boards. There was a local board for each county and for each unit of 30,000 people in urban areas. Through the local boards the System registered, classified, and selected for induction male citizens and aliens subject to service.

Records Description
Dates: 1940-1945
Volume: 51 cubic feet

Records of the Pennsylvania State Headquarters Office, Harrisburg. The records are resident alien registrant case files and non-resident alien case files including:

  • DSS Form 40, "Selective Service System Questionnaire";
  • DSS Form 304, "Alien's Personal History and Statement";
  • DSS Form 66, "Individual Appeal Record";

and other forms and correspondence with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, State Selective Service officials, and employers.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

 

Record Group 155
Records of the Wage and Hour Division

Administrative History
The Public Contracts Division was created to administer the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of June 30, 1936, which required Government supply contracts exceeding $10,000 to stipulate minimum wage, overtime pay, safety, and health standards. The Wage and Hour Division was established in the Department of Labor to administer the minimum wage, overtime compensation, equal pay, and child labor standards provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of June 25, 1938. The two divisions were consolidated in 1942, and their area of responsibility was expanded by subsequent legislation.

Records Description
Dates: 1939-1971
Volume: 134 cubic feet

Records of offices in Baltimore, Chambersburg (Pennsylvania), and Philadelphia. The records relate to investigations of businesses regarding compliance with wage-hour and public contract laws, Federal enforcement of fair labor standards laws, and claims for payment of back wages. The records are selected closed investigative and inspection case files, which include correspondence, interview transcripts, payroll and accounting records, and reports.

Finding Aids
Entry 2 in Herbert J. Horwitz, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions, NC 77 (1964).

 

Record Group 156
Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance

Administrative History
The Ordnance Department was established as an independent bureau of the War Department by an act of May 14, 1812. It was responsible for the procurement and distribution of ordnance and equipment, the maintenance and repair of equipment, and the development and testing of new types of ordnance. The Department was abolished in 1962, and its functions were transferred to the U.S. Army Material Command.

Among the field establishments maintained by the Ordnance Department within the United States have been armories, arsenals, and ordnance depots, district offices, and plants.

Records Description
Dates: 1813-1969
Volume: 1,224 cubic feet

Records of the following facilities:

  • Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, 1901-1953;
  • Allegheny Arsenal, Pennsylvania, 1813-1902;
  • Allegany Ordnance Plant, Maryland, 1942-1943;
  • Baltimore Ordnance District, Maryland, 1918-1919;
  • Bellona Arsenal, Virginia, 1830-1856;
  • Cherokee Ordnance Works, Virginia, 1942-1950;
  • Cressona Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1945-1950;
  • Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot, Maryland, 1917-1957;
  • Edgewood Ordnance Assembly Plant, Maryland, 1941-1945;
  • Fort Monroe Arsenal, Virginia, 1824-1901;
  • Frankford Arsenal, Pennsylvania, 1816-1969;
  • Holabird Ordnance Depot, Maryland, 1942-1943;
  • Keystone Ordnance Works, Pennsylvania, 1944-1947;
  • Letterkenny Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1949-1956;
  • Middletown General Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1918-1919;
  • Morgantown Ordnance Works, West Virginia, 1941-1952;
  • Nansemond Ordnance Depot, Virginia, 1940-1949;
  • Penniman General Ordnance Depot, Virginia, 1919-1923;
  • Philadelphia General Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1918- 1919;
  • Philadelphia Ordnance District, Pennsylvania, 1918-1950;
  • Pig Point General Ordnance Depot, Virginia, 1918-1919;
  • Pittsburgh Ordnance District, Pennsylvania, 1918-1950;
  • Radford Arsenal, Virginia, 1946-1950;
  • Susquehanna Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1942-1948;
  • Tobyhanna General Ordnance Depot, Pennsylvania, 1918-1919;
  • West Virginia Ordnance Plant, West Virginia, 1942-1946.

The records relate to most aspects of the facilities' operations, including administrative matters involving the commanding officer and his staff; civilian and military personnel; contracts; expenditures; inspections; research, development, and testing; and the manufacturing, procurement, and issuance of ordnance. The records consist of correspondence, installation histories, memorandums, orders, pay and muster rolls, reports, and returns. Nontextual records include blueprints, maps, and photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 1073 through 1109, 1143, 1144, 1201 through 1290, 1486 through 1512, 1549 through 1552, 1578 through 1581, 1585 through 1588, 1612 through 1614, 1618, 1638 through 1650, 1655 through 1658, 1665 through 1667, 1676, 1677, 1680, 1683 through 1685, 1689, and 1690 in Evelyn Wade and Garry D. Ryan, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance. Part II: Records of the Ordnance Field Installations, NM 59 (1965).

 

Record Group 158
Records of the Capital Issues Committee

Administrative History
A Capital Issues Committee was created within the Federal Reserve Board in January 1918; in May it was replaced by a new Capital Issues Committee, an independent agency under authority of the War Finance Corporation Act of April 5, 1918. The two committees were created to determine whether proposed issues of securities were in the national interest, and to discourage the diversion of capital to unessential projects. The Committee suspended its activities at the end of 1918, and a Presidential proclamation of August 30, 1919, directed it to terminate its affairs.

Much of the work of the Committee was handled by the subcommittees (or district committees) that were established in each Federal Reserve district.

Records Description
Dates: 1918
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot
Records of the Philadelphia and Richmond district committees. The records relate to applications by organizations proposing capital issues and the committee's recommendations in each case. They consist of committee meeting minutes.

Finding Aids
Entries 33 and 34 in William F. Sherman and Norwood N. Biggs, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Capital Issues Commission, NC 85 (1964).

 

Record Group 163
Records of the Selective Service System (World War I)

Administrative History
The Selective Service System, under the direction of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, was authorized by an act of May 18, 1917, to register and induct men into military service. Much of the management of the draft was left to the States, where local draft boards were established on the basis of 1 for every 30,000 people. These boards, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the State Governor, registered, classified, inducted, and delivered to mobilization camps men who were eligible for the draft. Legal and medical advisory boards assisted the local boards and registrants, and district boards were established to pass on occupational exemption claims and to hear appeals. The Provost Marshal General's Office worked with local and district boards through Selective Service State Headquarters. Classification ceased shortly after the Armistice in 1918, and by May 31, 1919, all Selective Service organizations were closed except the Office of the Provost Marshal General, which was abolished July 15, 1919.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1919
Volume: 165 cubic feet

Records of district and local boards in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The records are:

  • docket books containing an individual's name, county of residence, and dates of actions taken such as notification, appearance, exemption, and report to camp; some contain home address, marital status, number of dependents, citizenship, and remarks pertaining to discharge or alien status;
  • lists of names of men ordered to report for induction;
  • indexes of names of deserters from Pennsylvania;
  • final lists of names of delinquents and deserters;
  • appeals to the President from district board decisions on agricultural and industrial exemptions.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 165
Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs

Administrative History
A War Department General Staff was authorized by Congress on February 14, 1903, to include a Chief of Staff, a General Council, and three divisions, which, after frequent reorganizations, developed into the Personnel Division (G-1), the Military Intelligence Division (G-2), the Organization and Training Division (G-3), the Supply Division (G-4), and the War Plans Division (Operations Division after 1942). The General Staff was a separate and distinct staff organization with supervision over most military branches - both line and staff. Its duties were to prepare plans for national defense and mobilization of military forces in time of war, to investigate and report on questions affecting Army efficiency and preparedness, and to give professional aid to the Secretary of War, general officers, and other superior commanders.

Under provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 the War Department became the Department of the Army within the newly created National Military Establishment, which was renamed the Department of Defense in 1949.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1919
Volume: 32 cubic feet

Records of the Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh district offices of the Plant Protection Section, Military Intelligence Division. The records relate to investigations of employees, plants, and warehouses of companies producing goods for the war effort. There is documentation of: alleged seditious behavior or pro-German sentiment among employees, anarchists, and the International Workers of the World (IWW) union; Bolshevik activity; suspected sabotage; and strikes and labor unrest. Also described are general manufacturing procedures and plant security. Included are correspondence and reports. Nontextual records include blueprints and photographs.

Finding Aids
Subject index (accessioned record).
Entries 124 through 128, 137, and 138 in Olive K. Liebman and Harry W. John, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, NM 84 (1967).

Record Group 175
Records of the Chemical Warfare Service

Administrative History
The Chemical Warfare Service, a technical service under the General Staff, was established as part of the National Army on June 28, 1918, to develop, produce, and test materials and apparatus for gas warfare and to organize and train military personnel in methods of defense against gas. As part of a War Department reorganization, effective March 9, 1942, it became part of the Services of Supply, later designated Army Service Forces. In 1946, it was again placed under the General Staff, and on September 6, 1946, its name was changed to the Chemical Corps which was abolished on August 1, 1962.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1919
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot

Records of the Chemical Warfare Service Detachment, U.S. Chemical Plant No. 4, Saltville, Virginia. The records document plant activities and administration, especially civilian and military personnel actions. They are correspondence, orders, and reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 178
Records of the U.S. Maritime Commission

Administrative History
The U.S. Maritime Commission was created as an independent agency by the Merchant Marine Act of June 29, 1936, to further develop and maintain a merchant marine for the promotion of U.S. commerce and defense. It was authorized to regulate U.S. ocean commerce, supervise freight and terminal facilities, and administer Government funds to construct and operate commercial ships. The Commission was the successor agency of the U.S. Shipping Board and the U.S. Shipping Board Bureau of the Department of Commerce. The Commission was abolished on May 24, 1950, and its functions were transferred to the Department of Commerce where they were assigned to the Federal Maritime Board and the Maritime Administration (RG 357).

Records Description
Dates: 1942-1946
Volume: 13 cubic feet

Records of East Coast Director, Construction Division, Philadelphia. The records relate to activities and labor relations at shipyards; construction contracts; transfer of vessels to the U.S. Navy; and general office administration. Included are correspondence, news clippings, orders, and reports.

Finding Aids
Box contents list.

Entry 101 in Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Maritime Commission, NC 5 (1962).

Record Group 181
Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments

Administrative History
Soon after its establishment in 1798, the Department of the Navy created navy yards and other fleet service shore establishments. A system of naval districts for the United States, its territories, and possessions was not formally established, however, until 1903. This system was supervised by the Bureau of Navigation until 1915 when it became the responsibility of the Chief of Naval Operations. By the end of World War II, the districts exercised almost complete military and administrative control over naval operations within their limits, including naval shipyards, stations, training stations, air installations, and advance bases.

Records Description
Dates: 1794-1960
Volume: 2,560 cubic feet

Records of the following facilities:

  • Baltimore Port Director, 1936-1955;
  • Commandant, 4th Naval District, Philadelphia, 1923-1957;
  • Commandant, 5th Naval District, Norfolk, Virginia, 1926-1960;
  • Electricians Training School, Takoma Park, Maryland, 1951-1953;
  • Headquarters, Washington Naval District, Washington, DC, 1942-1954;
  • Naval Air Facilities, Annapolis, Maryland, 1944-1947;
  • Naval Engineering Experiment Station, Annapolis, Maryland, 1951-1953;
  • Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head, Maryland, 1907- 1925;
  • Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Bethesda, Maryland, 1918-1948;
  • Norfolk Naval Air Station, Virginia, 1922-1960;
  • Norfolk Naval Base, Virginia, 1941-1954;
  • Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 1863-1959;
  • Philadelphia Navy Yard, 1794-1957;
  • Severn River Naval Command, Annapolis, Maryland, 1944-1953;
  • Washington Naval Air Facility, DC, 1949-1951;
  • Washington Naval Shipyard, DC, 1951-1952.

The records relate to administrative activities and general operations of the districts and installations. Included are correspondence, reports, and station logs. Nontextual records include photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to national security classification.

Record Group 187
Records of the National Resources Planning Board

Administrative History
The National Resources Planning Board (NRPB) was established in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1939. It inherited the functions of the National Planning Board of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (created July 20, 1933) and its various successors. The NRPB and its predecessors planned public works, coordinated Federal planning relating to conservation and efficient use of national resources, and encouraged local, State, and regional planning. The NRPB was abolished by an act of June 26, 1943.

In 1934, the NPB began using the regional advisors and State advisory boards of the Public Works Administration for field contacts with State and local governments. On March 1, 1934, the NPB began developing a field organization of its own, establishing 12 Planning Districts throughout the country. The number of districts was subsequently reduced to 11. On May 13, 1937, the 11 planning district offices became nine regional offices. (Two additional regions were subsequently added for Alaska and the Caribbean territories.) The NRPB was liquidated in 1943.

The regional offices primarily acted as clearinghouses of planning information, carried out the Board's activities in the field, and coordinated regional, State, and local natural resource planning activities.

Records Description
Dates: 1937-1943
Volume: 37 cubic feet

Records of the headquarters office, Region 2 (Middle Atlantic), Baltimore, which served Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and (after August 1942) West Virginia. The records document preliminary review of proposed Federal construction projects and projects to promote employment, industrial development, and water use. Included are correspondence, news clippings, publications, reports, and technical planning files. Nontextual records include maps.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.
Entries 10 through 13, 15, and 16 in Maizie Johnson and Sarah Powell, comps, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Army Commands, 1784-1821, PI 64 (1966).

Record Group 188
Records of the Office of Price Administration

Administrative History
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) originated in the Price Stabilization and Consumer Protection Divisions of the Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense on May 29, 1940, and in their successor, the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply, created in April 1941 and redesignated the Office of Price Administration by an Executive order of August 28, 1941. The OPA was given statutory recognition as an independent agency by the Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942. Under this legislation the OPA attempted to stabilize prices and rents by establishing maximum prices for commodities (other than agricultural products which were under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture) and rents in defense areas. It also rationed scarce essential commodities and authorized subsidies for the production of some goods. Most of the price and rationing controls were lifted between August 1945 and November 1946.

Records Description
Dates: 1942-1946
Volume: 350 cubic feet

Records for Region II, New York City, with jurisdiction over Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, with headquarters at New York City. The records document the work of the Accounting, Enforcement, Information, Price, and Rationing Divisions; several administrative, district, and executive offices; and some local boards in the following cities:

  • Albany, New York;
  • Altoona, Pennsylvania;
  • Annapolis, Maryland;
  • Atlantic City, New Jersey;
  • Baltimore, Maryland;
  • Binghamton, New York;
  • Buffalo, New York;
  • Camden, New Jersey;
  • Erie, Pennsylvania;
  • Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;
  • Newark, New Jersey;
  • New York, New York;
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
  • Scranton, Pennsylvania;
  • Syracuse, New York;
  • Trenton, New Jersey;
  • Washington, DC;
  • Williamsport, Pennsylvania;
  • Wilmington, Delaware.

The records relate to price levels, rationing, and investigations of companies. Included are applications for price adjustments, case files, daily information reports, industry surveys, newspaper releases, price charts, publications, radio scripts, ration currency audits, reports and issuances, speeches, and statistical data.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 202 through 206, and 351 in Meyer H. Fishbein, Martha Chandler, Walter W. Weinstein, and Albert W. Winthrop, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Rationing Department of the Office of Price Information, PI 102 (1958).

Entries 144 through 152 in Betty R. Bucher, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Information Department of the Office of Price Information, PI 119 (1959).

Entries 216 through 222 in Meyer H. Fishbein and Betty R. Bucher, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Enforcement Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 120 (1959).

Entries 313, 315 through 325, 327 through 338, 340 through 342, 346 through 348, 350 and 351 in Elaine E. Bennett and Meyer H. Fishbein, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Accounting Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 32 (1951).

Entries 1007 through 1064 in Walter W. Weinstein, Albert W. Winthrop, and Meyer H. Fishbein, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Price Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 95 (1956).

Top