Press Release nr98-108
Press Release · Friday, July 24, 1998

Washington, DC

The National Archives and Records Administration recently published three new volumes in the series, The Trans-Mississippi West, 1804-1912: A Guide to Federal Records for the Territorial Period, compiled by Robert M. Kvasnicka. They are Part III: A Guide to the Records of the Department of Agriculture for the Territorial Period (397 pages ISBN 1-880875-13-6) and two volumes of Part IV: A Guide to Records of the Department of the Interior for the Territorial Period, namely Section 1: Records of the Offices of the Secretary of the Interior and The Commissioner of Railroads (250 pages, ISBN 0-880875-13-6) and Section 2: Records of Select Agencies: the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureaus of Mines and Reclamation, and the Offices of Territories and Education (216 pages, ISBN 0-880875015-2).

As a major factor in the settlement and development of the United States west of the Mississippi, the Federal government generated a huge quantity of records. These guides identify and describe significant series of civil and military records relating to settlement. Now numbering five volumes, the guide unlocks the vast research potential of these valuable records, providing information about relevant material from more than 35 bureaus, offices, or other administrative units. Issued in a convenient 8 ½- by 11-inch, softcover format, each indexed volume focuses on the records of a Cabinet Department. The publications help researchers determine the nature and location of the records, whether they are in the Washington, DC area, or in a regional facility.

Also available are Part I: A Guide to Records of the Department of State for the Territorial Period (140 pages, ISBN 0-880875-00-4) and Part II. A Guide to Records of the Department of Justice for the Territorial Period ( 137 pages, ISBN 1-880875-02-0). These volumes won the C.F.W. Coker Prize for Innovative Archival Description awarded by the Society of American Archivists and the Thomas Jefferson Prize given by the Society for History in the Federal Government.

For review copies of the new volumes, please write to Katherine Coram, Marketing Director, Rm 607 (NWCP), National Archives and Records Administration, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20408, or call 202-501-5330 ext. 273.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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