Guide to Archival Holdings (RG 54-96)

• Introduction
• Alphabetical List of Record Groups
• Numerical List of Record Groups
• Record Groups 15 through 49
• Record Groups 54 through 96
• Record Groups 111 through 188
• Record Groups 202 through 270
• Record Groups 310 through Donated Materials

Records of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering (RG 54)

Administrative History

The Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering was established on February 13, 1943, in the Agricultural Research Administration of the Department of Agriculture. Government procurement, propagation, and distribution of seeds and plants began in the agricultural section established in the Patent Office in 1839. These activities were transferred to the Department of Agriculture's Division of Gardens and Ground in 1862 and to the Division of Seeds in 1868. As plant work became more specialized, Divisions of Botany, Pomology, Vegetable Physiology, Pathology, and Agrostology were established in the Department from 1869 to 1895. To coordinate and develop plant investigations conducted by these divisions, the Bureau of Plant Industry was established in 1901. In 1938, soil investigations were transferred to the Bureau. These investigations had originated in the Division of Soils, established in 1894, and had expanded in the Bureau of Soils, and the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, established in 1901 and 1927, respectively. In 1943, engineering research was transferred from the Bureau of Agricultural Chemistry and Engineering to the newly designated Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. The Bureau was abolished by the Secretary of Agriculture on November 2, 1953, and its functions transferred to the Agricultural Research Service.

Records Description

Dates: 1892-1902
Volume: 1 cubic foot

Records of the Division of Vegetable Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Santa Ana, California. The records document the work of pathologist Newton B. Pierce to combat diseases attacking grapes, walnuts, and other crops, and to develop improved varieties of fruits and nuts.

Finding Aid

Harold T. Pinkett, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, PI 66 (1954).

Records of the U.S. Geological Survey (RG) 57

Administrative History

The Geological Survey was established in the Department of the Interior by an act of March 3, 1879, providing for the "classification of the public lands and the examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the public domain." An act of September 5, 1962, expanded this authorization to examinations outside the public domain, while topographical mapping and chemical and physical research were authorized by an act of October 2, 1888. The Survey's chief functions are to survey, investigate, and conduct research on the Nation's topography, geology, and mineral and water resources; classify land according to mineral composition and water power resources; furnish engineering supervision for power permits and Federal Power Commission licenses; supervise naval petroleum reserves and mineral leasing operations on public and Indian lands; and disseminate data relating to these activities.

Records Description

Dates: 1891-1990
Volume: 111 cubic feet

Records of the Branch of Astrogeology, Flagstaff, Arizona. The records document the work of staff scientists Harold Masursky and Eugene Shoemaker, who were involved in National Aeronautics and Space Administration activities including astronaut training, Apollo lunar geological studies, and other aspects of manned and unmanned space exploration. The records include correspondence, field journals, notes, and reports. Nontextual records include photographs of the Magellan, Mariner, Viking, and Voyager space missions.

Records of the Hydrographic Division, which surveyed California landowners about artesian wells located on their lands. Prominent landowners who participated in the survey include J.W. Bixby, A.B. Chapman, and William McFadden. The records are survey sheets.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.
Records of the U.S. Geological Survey in NARA's Pacific Region (Riverside)

Records of the Internal Revenue Service (RG 58)

Administrative History

The Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue was established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of July 1, 1862, to help finance the Civil War. Within the Office the agency that collected funds was known as the Bureau of Internal Revenue until 1953 when it was designated the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The taxes levied during the Civil War were gradually abolished until only taxes on liquor and tobacco remained in 1883. In addition to the taxes on these commodities, the Bureau began collecting a corporation income tax after 1909. With the adoption of the 16th amendment in 1913, the collection of income taxes became one of the Bureau's principal functions. It is now responsible for the administration, assessment, and collection of all internal revenue taxes.

Records Description

Dates: 1867-1873
Volume: 7 cubic feet

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Related Microfilm Publications

M756, Internal Revenue Assessment Lists for California, 1862-1866.

Records of the Bureau of Yards and Docks (RG 71)

Administrative History

The Bureau of Yards and Docks in 1862 replaced the Bureau of Naval Yards and Docks, established in the Department of the Navy by an act of August 31, 1842. Bureau functions included the design, construction, and maintenance of all naval public works and utilities, such as dry docks, marine railways, shipbuilding ways, harbor structures, storage facilities, power plants, heating and lighting systems, and buildings at shore establishments. The Bureau also operated power plants, maintained public works and utilities at shore establishments, and obtained real estate for Navy use. At advanced bases and in combat areas Bureau work was performed by construction battalions (Seabees). A Department of Defense reorganization order of March 9, 1966, abolished the Bureau, and the Secretary of the Navy transferred most of its functions to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

Records Description

Dates: 1925-1944
Volume: 6 cubic feet

Records of the Naval Construction Battalion Training Center, Camp Pendleton, California. The records relate to "Sea Bees" training. Included are correspondence, memorandums, logs, and orders.

Records of the Aviation Division, Naval Air Station, San Diego. The records relate to the construction of buildings and facilities at and near the Air Stations in San Diego and San Pedro, California. Included are correspondence, memorandums, and orders.

Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (RG 75)

Administrative History

An Office of Indian Affairs was established in 1824 within the War Department, which had exercised jurisdiction over relations with Indian tribes since the formation of the Federal Government. The Office operated informally within the War Department until Congress authorized the appointment of a Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1832. The Office was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1849. Although commonly called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it was not officially designated that until 1947.

The Bureau is responsible for most of the Federal Government's relations with the tribes of Indians that it recognizes. Some groups of Indians, particularly in the Eastern States, have never received official recognition, and other groups ceased to function as cohesive tribes before the establishment of the Federal Government in 1789. The Bureau has only exercised responsibility for Indians living on a recognized reservation or who maintained an affiliation with a recognized tribe. Many persons of Indian descent are not mentioned in any of the Bureau's records because they severed all connection with any tribe.

The Bureau's programs have had an impact on virtually every phase of tribal development and individual Indian life including education, health, land ownership, financial affairs, employment, and legal rights. In 1931, the Bureau assumed jurisdiction over the Indians and Eskimos of Alaska from the Alaska Division of the Office of Education, which had been established in 1885 to administer education and health programs for the natives of Alaska. In 1955, most of the Bureau's health activities, including the operation of Indian Hospitals, were transferred to the Public Health Service.

When it was created in 1824, the Bureau inherited a well-established system of agencies, each of which was responsible for all relations with one or more tribes. Many of these agencies were subordinate to a superintendency which had general responsibility for Indian affairs in a territory or other geographical area.

Although there were numerous changes in agency designations and jurisdictions, this basic organizational structure remained unchanged until superintendencies were abolished in the 1870's and all agents began reporting directly to the Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC. In 1947, area offices were established to exercise supervisory control over agencies and other administrative units (such as schools or irrigation districts) within specific geographic regions.

In addition to the agents who were responsible for the day-to-day implementation of Indian policy, the Bureau often sent officials into the field for special purposes. These included treaty commissioners, inspectors, purchasing and disbursing agents, enrolling and allotting agents, and education specialists. Many of the schools that operated on Indian reservations were under the control of a superintendent who was often independent of the agent and sometimes exercised the functions of an agent. There were also a number of non-reservation schools, such as the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma, which accepted students from all over the country and were not under the control of any local agent.

Records Description

Dates: 1867-1972
Volume: 3,301 cubic feet

• Campo Superintendency, California, 1919-1920, including the Campo band of Mission Indians. Education records only.
• Chinle Subagency, Arizona, 1938-1956, including the Navajo. Tribal resources records; records relating to Indian services, including subject files of the district supervisor, and central classified files; education records.
• Civilian Conservation Corps--Indian Division, California, 1936-1942. Administrative records, including central reference files only.
• Colorado River Agency, Arizona, 1867-1951, including the Chemehuevi, Cocopa, Havasupai, Hualapai (Walapai), Mohave, Walapai, Yavapai, and Yuma. General records, including letters received from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and field notes of a survey of the boundaries of the Colorado River Reservation, and central classified files; administrative, financial, trust responsibilities, tribal resources, and Indian services records, including census rolls, and health and welfare records.
• Colorado River Irrigation Project, Arizona, 1909-1948. Trust responsibilities records, including monthly and annual reports, and Headgate (Parker) Rock Dam records.
• Eastern Navajo Agency, Crownpoint, Arizona, 1909-1944, including the Navajo. General records, including central classified files and other subject files; administrative, financial, trust responsibilities, Indian services, and education records.
• Fort Apache Agency, Whiteriver, Arizona, 1875-1955, including the Apache. General records, including central classified files; administrative, financial, trust responsibilities and tribal resources records, including records of the Indian Division of the Civilian Conservation Corps; Indian services records, including census rolls; education records, including annual school census reports.
• Fort Mojave Subagency and School, Arizona, 1906-1931, including the Chemehuevi and Mohave. General records, including central classified files; administrative records, including descriptions and photographs of agency buildings; education records.
• Fort Yuma Indian Agency, Arizona, 1907-1951, including the Cocopa and Quechans. General records, including central classified files, other subject files, and superintendent's annual reports; administrative records, including blueprints and hospital construction files; financial, trust responsibilities, and Indian services records, including a register of births and deaths; education records, including school censuses.
• Hopi Agency, Keams Canyon, Arizona, 1910-1956, including the Hopi and Navajo. General records, including central classified files; administrative, trust responsibilities, Indian services, and education records.
• Indian Irrigation Service, District 4, Arizona, 1912-1942. Trust responsibilities records, including records of the supervising engineer documenting the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of irrigation projects.
• La Jolla Superintendency, California, 1909-1911, including the Luiseno and the La Jolla band of Mission Indians. General and financial records.
• Los Angeles Area Field Office, California, 1952-1969. General records relating to field employment assistance.
• Malki Superintendency, California, 1908-1920. General, education, and legal records.
• Mission Agency, California, 1880-1962, including the Cahuilla, Cupeno, and Serrano tribes, and Luiseno band. General records, including central classified files, annual reports, records relating to World War II, and photographs; administrative, financial, and trust responsibilities records, including maps and plats; Indian resources records, including censuses; education, and health and welfare records, including annual education censuses.
• Morongo Subagency, California, 1922-1947, including the Cahuilla and Serrano. General, administrative, and tribal resources records.
• Navajo Agency, Fort Defiance, Arizona, 1881-1936, including the Navajo and Hopi. General records, including subject files; administrative, financial, Indian services, and education records.
• Pala Subagency, California, 1922-1947, including the Cupeno Indians, and Luiseno band. General and Indian services records; administrative records, including central reference files.
• Pala Superintendency, California, 1903-1921, including the Cupeno Indians and Luiseno band. General, administrative, legal, financial, education, and heirship records.
• Palm Springs Subagency, California, 1936-1964, including the Cahuilla and Agua Caliente Band of Mission Indians in California. General, trust responsibilities, and tribal resources records; and health and welfare records, including census cards.
• Papago Agency, Sells, Arizona, 1871-1955, including the Maricopa, Papago, and Pima. General records, including central classified files, other subject files, and maps and blueprints; administrative, financial, trust responsibilities, tribal resources, and Indian services records including census rolls, birth and death registers, and the tribal constitution; education, and health and welfare records, including school census reports.
• Pechanga Superintendency, California, 1909-1914. General records; administrative records, including narrative and statistical reports; and education records.
• Phoenix Area Office, Arizona, 1907-1974. General records, including the district director's classified files, central classified files, and other subject files; administrative, financial, and trust responsibilities records, including records of the Division of Irrigation, the Branch of Land Operations, the Branch of Soil Conservation, and its Forestry and Grazing Division; tribal resources records, including employment assistance case files; Indian services records, including census reports and general correspondence of the Division of Extension and Industry; and health and welfare records, including correspondence relating to Japanese resettlement camps, and trachoma records.
• Phoenix Indian School, Arizona, 1942-1965.Student case files.
• Pima Agency, Sacaton, Arizona, 1888-1951, including the Maricopa, Papago, and Pima. General records, including central classified files; administrative, financial, trust responsibilities, tribal resources, and Indian services records, including annual census returns; education, and health and welfare records, including annual school censuses.
• Rincon Superintendency, California, 1909-1911. General and financial records.
• Riverside Area Field Office, California, 1928-1968, including the Mission Indians. General records relating to field employment assistance and road construction projects; land allotment and housing.
• San Carlos Apache Agency, Arizona, 1900-1952, including the Apache, Mohave, and Yuma. General records, including central classified files; education records.
• Sherman Institute, California, 1898-1955. Records of the superintendent, including central classified files; records concerning students, principals, teachers, curricula, and student outings; financial records; records of the disciplinarian's office; and records of student organizations and events.
• Shiprock--San Juan Training School and Agency (Navajo), New Mexico, 1903-1955. General records only, including letters sent to the commissioner, other letters, and subject files of the district supervisor and field superintendent.
• Soboba Superintendency, California, 1910-1920, including the Cahuilla. General and administrative records.
• Torres-Martinez Subagency, California, 1935-1946, including the Cahuilla. General records only.
• Truxton Canyon Agency, Arizona, 1895-1951, including the Havasupai and Hualapai. General records, including central classified files; administrative, financial, tribal resources, and education records.
• Volcan Superintendency, California, 1906-1913. General records only.
• Western Navajo Agency, Tuba City, Arizona, 1902-1917 including the Navajo. General, administrative, and financial records.
• Window Rock Area Office, Arizona, 1915-1954, including the Navajo. General records, including central classified files and other subject files; administrative, financial, tribal resources, and Indian services records, including birth and death certificates, and census rolls.

• Education Field Agent, 1930-1950. General records, and education, and health and welfare records.
• San Diego County Field Aid, 1935-1945. Administrative records only.
• School Social Worker, 1933-1942. General and education records.
• Special Allotting Officer, 1920-1926. Correspondence, censuses, and notes.
• Special Officer, 1933-1940. Central files only.

Records submitted by the agent and other field employees document tribal economic, political, and social life ; the daily relations between the BIA and the Indians, an agent and his superiors, and officials of other Federal and local government agencies; and the agent's perceptions about the Indians and his duties. Included are annual narrative and statistical reports and correspondence.

The records document Indians' financial affairs , such as annuity payments and disbursements of other funds to tribal members as a result of treaties or Congressional legislation. They contain the Indian's name and the amount of money or type of goods received. With tribal censuses and other enrollment records, they document genealogy and tribal demographics. Included are cash reports, ledgers of receipts and disbursements, property returns, and vouchers.

The records document the financial affairs of "restricted Indians," considered incompetent because of their age, degree of Indian blood, or other factors. They concern the collection and disbursement of funds; requests by Indians for money to buy automobiles, clothing, farming equipment, furniture, groceries, livestock, pianos, and many other items; and the determination of heirs and distribution of the estates. Included are probate files, application forms, and related correspondence.

The records document land allotment to individual tribal members, names of eligible tribe members, contested allotments, the dispersal of the tribal domain, protests against the allotment process, sale or leasing of land, and use of tribal resources. Included are lists of eligible members, applications for specific tracts of land, plat maps, lists of eligible members, hearings, and letters (many in the native language) from Indians to their agents.

The records document the operation of schools on reservations, and nonreservation and public schools that Indians attended; school enrollments; and planning and implementation of educational programs. Included are correspondence, narrative and statistical reports, and individual student files that contain applications for admission, correspondence, and grades.

The records document the impact of changing social and economic conditions as reflected in activities of the Civilian Conservation Corps--Indian Division and other emergency relief programs conducted in the 1930's; agricultural extension projects; health care programs; construction of homes and roads; home demonstration programs; housing; income; irrigation and land management activities; liquor control, suppression of peyote, and other law enforcement activities on reservations; living conditions; and recreation. Included are project files and reports.

The records document tribal governments and provide insight into tribal politics and Indian reaction to various Federal programs and policies. Included are agendas, minutes, and resolutions of tribal business committees or other elected groups.

Nontextual records include blueprints, maps, and photographs.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory.

Edward E. Hill, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, PI 163 (2 vols., 1965).

Edward E. Hill, comp., Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians, Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1981.

Related Microfilm Publications

M595, Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940, for southern California and Arizona Indian tribes only; M734, Records of the Arizona Superintendency of Indian Affairs, 1863-1873; M1011, Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports From Field Jurisdictions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1907-1938.

Restrictions

Access to case files on individual Indians is restricted because of privacy concerns.

Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (RG 77)

Administrative History

The Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, with headquarters at Washington, DC, was a result of orders of April 3, 1818. The military responsibilities of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE) have included producing and distributing Army maps, building roads, planning camps, and constructing and repairing fortifications and other installations. Its civil duties have included maintaining and improving inland waterways and harbors, formulating and executing plans for flood control, operating dams and locks, and approving plans for construction of bridges, wharves, piers, and other works over navigable waters. Expansion of the OCE's river and harbor improvement work after the Civil War necessitated the establishment of district offices throughout the United States. The engineer officer in charge of each district reported directly to the Chief of Engineers until 1888 when engineer divisions were created with administrative jurisdiction over the district offices.

Records Description

Dates: 1899-1981
Volume: 1,299 cubic feet

• damming the Bolsa Chica Creek, 1900;
• purchasing private land for the construction of Fort Rosecrans, 1909;
• developing the Los Angeles harbors, 1910;
• mining the San Diego Channel during the Spanish-American War;
• constructing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, 1930-1934;
• sinking and destroying boats and derelicts in the Santa Barbara Channel, 1929-1930;
• the St. Francis Dam failure, 1928.

The records document military and civilian responsibilities of the OCE, such as maintaining and improving inland waterways and harbors, flood control, and operation of locks and dams, and provide geological, hydrological, and economic data about construction projects and their impact on the surrounding area. There are administrative records, annual coastal defense project reports, engineering studies, monthly river and harbor reports, structural permit files, and topographical and hydrological data files. Construction project files contain correspondence, design memorandums, notes, plans, progress reports, specifications, and test results. Nontextual records include engineering drawings, maps, and photographs.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Records of the National Park Service (RG 79)

Administrative History

The National Park Service was established in the Department of the Interior by an act of August 25, 1916. It supervises national parks, monuments, historic parks, memorials, parkways, recreation areas, and seashores and is responsible for the promotion and regulation of their use. It establishes and enforces regulations for use, protects parks from fire, regulates concession operators, investigates and recommends proposed new areas, acquires land, and constructs and maintains roads, trails, and buildings. It also engages in research and educational work such as managing guided tours and lectures, marking nature trails, maintaining museums and libraries, and preparing publications and studies in history, archeology, natural history, and wildlife.

Records Description

Dates: 1929-1973
Volume: 226 cubic feet

• Death Valley National Monument, California, 1954-1966;
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1929-1970;
• Joshua Tree National Monument, California, 1951-1973;
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Arizona, 1936-1973;
• Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, 1962-1968;
• Tonto National Monument, Arizona, 1935-1961.

The records document park administration and operations. They relate to fires, geological features, law enforcement, museum plans, radio and television activities, rescues, roads, and trails. Included are correspondence, narrative and statistical reports, and newspaper clippings. Nontextual records include maps and photographs.

Finding Aid

Edward E. Hill, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Park Service, PI 166 (1966).

Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (RG 83)

Administrative History

The Bureau of Agricultural Economics was established in the Department of Agriculture on July 1, 1922. Until 1939, it conducted studies and disseminated information relating to agricultural production, crop estimates, marketing, finance, labor, and other agricultural problems, and administered several regulatory statutes. In 1939, marketing functions were transferred to the Agricultural Marketing Service and most land-utilization work was transferred to the Soil Conservation Service. In 1953, it was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Agricultural Research Service and the Agricultural Marketing Service.

The regional offices of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics were an outgrowth of those of the Farm Security Administration. When the overall planning functions of the Department of Agriculture were consolidated in the Bureau in 1938, personnel who had been engaged in land use planning work in the Farm Security Administration were transferred to the Bureau, and regional offices were established. In some cases, records of regional offices of the Farm Security Administration, the National Resources Committee, or the Land Utilization Division of the Resettlement Administration were interfiled with those of the Bureau's regional offices. The regional offices were abolished on June 30, 1946.

Records Description

Dates: 1937-1942
Volume: 3 cubic feet

Records of the Arizona State representative. The records relate to planning activities with other Federal agencies and demonstration and land use adjustment projects. Included are correspondence, memorandums of agreement, minutes, and reports.

Vivian Wiser, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, PI 104 (1958).

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (RG 85)

Administrative History

The Office of Superintendent of Immigration was established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of March 3, 1891, and was designated a bureau in 1895 with responsibility for administering the alien contract-labor laws. In 1903, it became part of the Department of Commerce and Labor and in 1906 was designated the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization with the addition of functions relating to naturalization. In 1913, it was transferred to the Department of Labor as two separate Bureaus of Immigration and of Naturalization, which were reunited by Executive order on June 10, 1933, to form the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS, which became part of the Department of Justice in 1940, administers laws relating to admission, exclusion, deportation, and naturalization of aliens; patrols U.S. borders; and supervises naturalization work in designated Federal courts.

Records Description

Dates: 1893-1965
Volume: 326 cubic feet

Records of the Los Angeles district office and the following local offices in southern California:

• Bakersfield
• Calexico
• Nogales
• San Diego
• San Pedro

The records relate to investigations of alleged enemy aliens and illegal Chinese immigrants. They are case files which typically include applications for return certificates, certificates of residency, correspondence, merchants' partnership lists, questionnaires, and transcripts of interviews.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Related Microfilm Publications

Restrictions

Access to individual case files may be restricted because of privacy concerns.

Records of the Public Health Service, 1912-1968 (RG 90)

Administrative History

The Public Health Service, originally called the Marine Hospital Service, has its origins in an act of July 16, 1798, which authorized hospitals for the care of sick and disabled American merchant seamen. The scope of its activities was greatly expanded by subsequent legislation, and it became part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1955 after having been part of the Department of the Treasury from 1798 to 1939 and the Federal Security Agency from 1939 to 1953.

The Public Health Service operates marine hospitals, hospitals for specific diseases, medical facilities for Federal penal institutions, quarantine and health stations, and research institutions and laboratories. It conducts research in the cause, prevention, and control of disease and disseminates health information.

Records Description

Dates: 1900-1968
Volume: 8 cubic feet

Records of the Medical Officer in Command, Marine Hospital Service, San Diego. The records relate to: the administration of health care; coordination of assistance to survivors of the U.S.S. Bennington disaster, 1905; the condition of ships and passengers from Asian, and Central and South American ports; the possible transmission of bubonic plague and yellow fever by travelers across Panama. They are primarily correspondence.

Records of the Indian Medical Center, Indian Health Service, Phoenix. The records relate to the administration of health programs and construction projects; the effects of industrialization on Indian communities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah; and resources for, and management and evaluation of health training programs. The records include correspondence, memorandums, and reports.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.
Records of the Public Health Service (RG 90) in NARA's Pacific Region (Riverside), 1912 to 1968

Restrictions

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

Records of the Office of the Quartermaster (RG 92)

Administrative History

In 1818, Congress created a Quartermaster's Department under a single Quartermaster General to ensure an efficient system of supply and accountability of Army officers charged with monies or supplies. At various times, the Quartermaster has been responsible for procurement and distribution of supplies, pay, transportation, and construction. After a number of changes in functions and command relationships, Congress authorized a Quartermaster Corps in 1912 and designated its chief the Quartermaster General in 1914. The Corps was responsible for the operation of a number of general supply depots and subdepots throughout the United States. The Office of the Quartermaster General was abolished in 1962.

Records Description

Dates: 1918-1954
Volume: 8 cubic feet

Records of the Quartermaster Subdepot, Los Angeles, 1918-1921. The records relate to personnel in the Utility Company, Construction Division, and transportation orders for Camp Kearney. They are primarily correspondence.

Records of the following California depots, 1942-1954:

• San Bernardino Advanced Communications Zone Depot;
• Mira Loma Quartermaster Depot;
• San Bernardino Advance Depot;
• San Bernardino Branch, California Quartermaster Depot;
• San Bernardino Repair Subdepot;
• Yermo Storage Depot.

Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917 (RG 94)

Administrative History

In 1775, the Continental Congress appointed an Adjutant General of the Continental Army. After 1783, no further provision was made for such an officer until an act of March 5, 1792, provided for an adjutant who was also to do the work of inspector. An act of March 3, 1813, established an Adjutant General's Department and an Inspector General's Department under on head, the Adjutant and Inspector General. The two departments were made separate entities by an act of March 2, 1821. In April 1904, the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) and the Records and Pension Office of the War Department were united to form the Military Secretary's Office, but the Adjutant General was not included in this union of the two offices. In March 1907, Congress restored the AGO.

The AGO functioned under the direction of the Secretary of War until the creation of the General Staff in 1903, when the AGO came under the general supervision of the Chief of Staff. When the War Department was reorganized in 1942, the AGO was placed under the supervision of the Commanding General, Services of Supply (later designated Army Service Forces). With the dissolution of this organization in June 1946, the AGO was placed under the General Staff. After the War Department became the Department of the Army in 1947, the Adjutant General came under the direct supervision and control of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.

The AGO has been charged with matters relating to command, discipline, and administration, and has had the duties of recording, authenticating, and communicating the Secretary's orders, instructions, and regulations to troops and individuals in the Army. The AGO chiefly handled Army orders, correspondence, and other records, and it received final custody of virtually all records concerned with the Military Establishment, including personnel of the Army and discontinued commands, noncurrent holdings of the bureaus of the War Department, and special collections.

The records of the AGO include those of the Record and Pension Office. In order to consolidate in one place all records relating to Regulars and Volunteers, orders, muster rolls, returns, and other military records were brought together to form the Records and Pension Division of the War Department in July 1889 which existed separately until 1904. This division was charged with the custody of the military and hospital records and the transaction of War Department business with them.

Records Description

Dates: 1879-1898
Volume: 2 cubic feet

Records of the Post Hospital, San Diego Barracks. The records relate to personnel, equipment, and patients, including deaths and burials. The records are forms and registers.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Related Microfilm Publications

M182, Letters Sent by the Governors and the Secretary of State of California, 1847-1848.

Records of the Forest Service (RG 95)

Administrative History

In 1881, a Division of Forestry was established in the Department of Agriculture. It became the Forest Service in 1905 when it assumed responsibility for the administration of forest reserves from the Department of the Interior. From 1933 to 1942, the Service supervised a large part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work program.

The Service is responsible for promoting the conservation and best use of national forests and grasslands through development of the National Forest System, cooperating with administrators of State and private forests, and conducting forest and range research programs.

Records Description

Dates: 1916-1976
Volume: 4 cubic feet

Records of the Coconino National Forest Advisory Board. The records document interaction between Forest Service employees and the general public on regulating and administering natural resources in Coconino NF, Arizona; determining cooperative use of forest land for conservation, foresting, and grazing; and determining equitable use of water resources. Included are by-laws, charters, correspondence, minutes, notices, and rosters.

Finding Aid

Harold T. Pinkett and Terry W. Good, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Forest Service, PI 18 (1969).

Records of the Farmers Home Administration (RG 96)

Administrative History

The Farmers Home Administration (FHA) was established in the Department of Agriculture by an act of August 14, 1946, to succeed the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which had been established in 1937. The FSA succeeded the Resettlement Administration, which had been established in 1935 to administer rural rehabilitation and land programs begun in 1933 under the Subsistence Homesteads Division of the Department of the Interior and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration.

The FHA provides small farmers with credit to construct or repair homes, improve farming operations, or become farm owners, and gives individual guidance in farm and home management.

Records Description

Dates: 1934-1944
Volume: 12 cubic feet
 
Records of the Cochise, Mohave, and Pima County offices, Arizona, and Orange County office, California. The records relate to paid-in-full rural rehabilitation loans and include Farm and Home Management Plans submitted by loan applicants. They contain information about the farm family's assets, expenses, food consumption, income, and production. The records are case files.

Finding Aid

Stanley W. Brown and Virgil E. Baugh, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Farmers Home Administration, PI 118 (1959).

Restrictions

Access to some loan records may be restricted because of privacy concerns.