Records of the Farmers Home Administration [FmHA]
(Record Group 96)
1918-80 (bulk 1932-59)
Table of Contents
- 96.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
- 96.2 CENTRAL OFFICE RECORDS OF THE FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION
AND ITS PREDECESSORS
1918-59 (bulk 1935-59), 1972-75
2,037 lin. ft.
- 96.2.1 Records of the Office of the Administrator
- 96.2.2 Records of the Rural Rehabilitation Division
- 96.2.3 Records of the Cooperative Division
- 96.2.4 Records of the Subsistence Homesteads Division and its
successors
- 96.2.5 Records of the Resettlement Division
- 96.2.6 Records of the Project Management Division
- 96.2.7 Records of the Farm Ownership Division
- 96.2.8 Records of the Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Division
- 96.2.9 Records of the Information Division
- 96.2.10 Records of the Special Skills Division
- 96.2.11 Records of the Audit Division
- 96.3 RECORDS OF THE REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL CREDIT CORPORATION
(RACC)
1932-49
45 lin. ft.
- 96.4 RECORDS OF REGIONAL OFFICES
1933-47
867 lin. ft.
- 96.4.1 Records of Region 1, New Haven, CT (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI,
CT, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD)
- 96.4.2 Records of Region 2, Milwaukee, WI (MI, WI, MN)
- 96.4.3 Records of Region 3, Indianapolis, IN (OH, IN, IL, IA, MO)
- 96.4.4 Records of Region 4, Raleigh, NC (WV, KY, VA, NC, TN)
- 96.4.5 Records of Region 5, Montgomery, AL (SC, GA, AL, FL)
- 96.4.6 Records of Region 6, Little Rock, AR (AR, MS, LA)
- 96.4.7 Records of Region 7, Lincoln, NE (ND, SD, NE, KS [pt.])
- 96.4.8 Records of Region 8, Dallas, TX (OK [pt.], TX [pt.])
- 96.4.9 Records of Region 9, San Francisco, CA (CA, NV, UT, AZ)
- 96.4.10 Records of Region 10, Denver, CO (MT, WY, CO [pt.])
- 96.4.11 Records of Region 11, Portland, OR (AK, WA, OR, ID)
- 96.4.12 Records of Region 12, Amarillo, TX (CO [pt.], KS [pt.],
TX [pt.], NM, OK [pt.])
- 96.5 RECORDS OF COUNTY OFFICES
1934-44
547 lin. ft.
- 96.6 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
- 96.7 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
- 96.8 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
- 96.9 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL) 1946 575 images
Established: In the Department of Agriculture, by the Farmers Home Administration Act (60 Stat. 1062), August 14, 1946.
Predecessor Agencies:
Subsistence Homesteads Division, Department of the Interior (1933-35, to Resettlement Administration)
Rural Rehabilitation Division, Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA, 1934-35, to Resettlement Administration)
- Resettlement Administration (1935-36)
- Resettlement Administration (1937)
- Farm Security Administration (FSA, 1937-42)
- FSA, Food Production Administration (1942-43)
- FSA, Administration of Food Production and Distribution (1943)
- FSA, War Food Administration (WFA, 1943-45)
- FSA (1945-46)
Finding Aids: Stanley W. Brown and Virgil E. Baugh, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Farmers Home Administration, PI 118 (1959).
Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Farmers Home Administration in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Farm Credit Administration, RG 103.
96.2 CENTRAL OFFICE RECORDS OF THE FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION
AND ITS PREDECESSORS
1918-59 (bulk 1935-59), 1972-80
History: Resettlement Administration established as an independent agency by EO 7027, April 30, 1935, under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act (49 Stat. 115), April 8, 1935, to administer programs for the relief and rehabilitation of agricultural areas. Rural Rehabilitation Division (FERA) and Subsistence Homesteads Division (Interior) transferred to Resettlement Administration, 1935. SEE 96.2.2 and 96.2.4. Resettlement Administration transferred to Department of Agriculture, effective January 1, 1937, by EO 7530, December 31, 1936. Superseded by FSA, established by Secretary's Memorandum 732, September 1, 1937. FSA consolidated with other agencies concerned with food production to form Food Production Administration by EO 9280, December 5, 1942. Food Production Administration agencies (including FSA) consolidated with Food Distribution Administration agencies to form Administration of Food Production and Distribution, by EO 9322, March 26, 1943, renamed War Food Administration (WFA) by EO 9334, April 19, 1943. WFA abolished by EO 9577, June 29, 1945, and FSA placed under immediate supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture. Superseded by FmHA, 1946. SEE 96.1.
96.2.1 Records of the Office of the Administrator
Textual Records: General correspondence of the Resettlement Administration and its successor, the FSA, conducted by the Washington, DC, office, 1935-38; and the Cincinnati, OH, office, 1935-42. Records relating to the FSA, 1938-43, including correspondence concerning FSA participation in the defense program, 1940-42. General correspondence of FmHA, 1972-75. Miscellaneous administrative and program records, 1935-80.
Maps (3 items): United States, showing counties designated for emergency relief and tenant purchase; and United States, showing locations of FSA homesteads, 1940 (2 items). Southwest United States, showing location of FSA field activities, 1940 (1 item). SEE ALSO 96.6.
96.2.2 Records of the Rural Rehabilitation Division
History: Rural Rehabilitation Division (FERA) established April 1, 1934, by authority of the Federal Emergency Relief Act (48 Stat. 55), May 12, 1933, to make loans to destitute farm families. Transferred to Resettlement Administration, effective June 30, 1935, by FERA administrative order, June 19, 1935, and assigned to Rural Resettlement Division, July 1, 1935. Upon reorganization of that division, December 1, 1935, assigned to new Rural Rehabilitation Division. Functions absorbed by Production Loan Division, FmHA, August 1946.
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1935-38. Sample complaint correspondence between the administrators of the Resettlement Administration and the FSA and rural rehabilitation applicants, 1935-42. Records relating to rural rehabilitation; and to rural rehabilitation procedures, soil conservation benefits, and collections, 1935-42.
96.2.3 Records of the Cooperative Division
History: Responsibility for loans to agricultural cooperatives vested in the Rural Rehabilitation Division, Resettlement Administration and FSA, 1935-42. Function transferred to Cooperative Division, established in FSA, 1942. No new loans made after passage of the Farmers Home Administration Act, 1946, which required the liquidation of cooperative associations. Liquidation completed in 1954.
Textual Records: Reports and correspondence relating to cooperative associations, 1935-59 (446 ft.). Records of the Cooperative Division, Farm Credit Administration (FCA), relating to loans to cotton cooperatives, 1929-38.
96.2.4 Records of the Subsistence Homesteads Division and its
successors
History: Subsistence Homesteads Division organized in the Department of the Interior, August 23, 1933, under provisions of EO 6209, July 21, 1933, implementing the subsistence homesteads program of the National Recovery Act (48 Stat. 205), June 16, 1933. Transferred to Resettlement Administration by EO 7041, May 15, 1935.
Textual Records: Correspondence with the general public ("Requests for General Information"), 1933-35. Correspondence concerning proposed subsistence homestead projects, 1933-35. Correspondence concerning a census of part-time farming, 1933-34. Records relating to wages of workers employed on subsistence homestead projects, 1934-35.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (2,500 items): Paper tracings and blueprints of "subsistence homesteads" and "experimental villages" built by the Subsistence Homesteads Division (Interior), Division of Subsistence Homesteads (Resettlement Administration), and FSA, including plans of the Arthurdale Community and Reedsville, WV, projects, 1933-38. SEE ALSO 96.6.
96.2.5 Records of the Resettlement Division
History: Rural Resettlement Division established July 1, 1935. Renamed Resettlement Division, January 1937, following loss of rural rehabilitation functions, December 1, 1935.
Textual Records: General correspondence, primarily concerning farm-community projects, scattered-farm projects, and subsistence homestead projects, 1935-42. Land utilization project files for South Carolina, 1935-42. Migratory labor camp correspondence, 1935-43. Records concerning the operation of Defense Relocation Corporations (DRC) and the purchase and sale of DRC land, 1941- 53.
96.2.6 Records of the Project Management Division
History: Established in the Resettlement Administration, 1935, as the Management Division. Responsible for project management and for administering agreements with local tax districts to reimburse tax revenues lost by diversion of land into untaxed resettlement projects. Function lapsed with sale of last of set- aside project property.
Textual Records: Case files concerning payments in lieu of taxes, 1935-48. Project records, 1935-43.
96.2.7 Records of the Farm Ownership Division
History: Established as the Tenant Purchase Division, 1937, to carry out provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 522), July 22, 1937. Renamed Farm Ownership Division, July 1942.
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1937-42. Records relating to the Farm Debt Adjustment Program, 1942-43.
96.2.8 Records of the Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Division
History: Funding of drought relief for agricultural areas authorized, July 26, 1918. Responsibility for program administration placed in Crop Production Loan Office and Seed Loan Office, established in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture, July 26, 1918, and July 26, 1919, respectively, and assigned to newly created Farm Credit Administration by EO 6084, March 27, 1933. Combined to form the Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Section, 1936; and renamed the Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Division, 1943. Transferred to FmHA upon its establishment, 1946.
Textual Records: Records relating to procedures, 1918-46. Selected case files, 1931-46.
96.2.9 Records of the Information Division
Motion Pictures (11 reels): Produced by the Documentary Film Section, including Pare Lorentz's films, The Plow that Broke the Plains, 1936 (3 reels), and The River, 1937 (3 reels); and concerning migratory labor camps (1 reel), agricultural and industrial cooperatives in Russia, England, Sweden, Finland, and Scotland (3 reels), and the construction of typical houses and barns (1 reel), n.d.
Sound Recordings (32 items): Radio programs produced by the Radio Section, emphasizing the role of the Resettlement Administration in introducing scientific farming methods and giving financial assistance to farmers, 1935-37 (31 items). Radio talks on the sinking of the Lusitania, with a commentary on attempts to salvage her cargo; and on extortion practices in the United States, 1934 and 1936 (1 item).
96.2.10 Records of the Special Skills Division
Map (1 item): Resettlement Administration pictorial map showing types of projects in the United States, n.d. SEE ALSO 96.6.
96.2.11 Records of the Audit Division
Textual Records: Audit reports and correspondence for Cumberland Farms Cooperative Association and Coffee Farms Project, AL, 1935- 38 (in Atlanta).
96.3 RECORDS OF THE REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL CREDIT CORPORATION
(RACC)
1932-49
History: Established in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation under the Emergency Relief and Construction Act of 1932 (47 Stat. 713), July 21, 1932, to provide agricultural loans. Operated through 12 regional corporations, one in each farm credit district. Administrative responsibility for the RACC was vested in the Farm Credit Administration (FCA), effective May 27, 1933, by EO 6084, March 27, 1933. Liquidation began in 1934, suspended in World War II, completed in 1949. FCA's Emergency Crop and Feed Loan Division field offices designated custodians for terminated local offices of the regional corporations.
Textual Records: Minutes, 1932-43. General correspondence, 1932- 49. Correspondence with loan representatives, 1943-46, including the loan representative for Texas, 1943-44 (in Fort Worth). Correspondence with the Texas War Board representative, 1943-45 (in Fort Worth). Records relating to commodity production financing, 1942-44. Bulletins and administrative orders, 1933-49. Reports of examinations, 1933-42. Reports of field supervisors, 1938-40. Investigative files, 1935. Records relating to emergency food production loans, 1943-46.
96.4 RECORDS OF REGIONAL OFFICES
1933-47
History: Established by the Resettlement Administration, April 1935, to supervise field activities and continued by the FSA. Functions transferred to state offices in accordance with the Farmers Home Administration Act (60 Stat. 1062), August 14, 1946, with liquidation completed by the end of FY 1947.
96.4.1 Records of Region 1, New Haven, CT (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, NJ, DE, MD)
Textual Records (in Boston): Director's correspondence, 1936-37. General correspondence, 1935-47. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1937-46. Materials relating to arts and crafts surveys and directories, 1934-37. Correspondence of the Resettlement Division concerning resettlement projects, 1936- 40; migratory labor camps, 1941-42; and Defense Relocation Corporations, 1941-42.
96.4.2 Records of Region 2, Milwaukee, WI (MI, WI, MN)
Textual Records (in Chicago): General correspondence, 1935-47. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1937-46. Records of the Resettlement Division concerning resettlement projects, 1935-45.
Maps (18 items): Southern Michigan Farms Resettlement Project, 1936-38. SEE ALSO 96.6.
96.4.3 Records of Region 3, Indianapolis, IN (OH, IN, IL, IA, MO)
Textual Records (in Chicago): General correspondence, 1935-42. Report file on the Southeast Missouri Study, 1937. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1937-46. Records of the Resettlement Division concerning the Scioto Farms Project, OH, 1936-42; and the La Forge Farms Project, MO, 1939- 45.
96.4.4 Records of Region 4, Raleigh, NC (WV, KY, VA, NC, TN)
Textual Records (in Atlanta): Director's correspondence, 1934-41. General correspondence, 1935-46. Correspondence of the Regional Director, Land Utilization Division, 1934-45. Records of the Rural Rehabilitation Division, consisting of general correspondence, 1934-40; correspondence of the assistant regional director, 1935-41; correspondence of the rural rehabilitation adviser, 1934-45; correspondence of the special assistant, 1934- 35; office file of the state loan officer for North Carolina, 1935-36; farm ownership case files, 1938-46; correspondence and other records of the Farm Debts Adjustment Commission, FERA, for North Carolina, 1934-35; general correspondence of the Farm Debt Adjustment Section, 1935-37; and general correspondence of the Community and Cooperative Services Section, 1935-40. Records of the Resettlement Division, consisting of correspondence relating to resettlement projects, 1935-46; records of the Roanoke Farms Project, 1936-40; records of the Shenandoah Homesteads, 1934-37; and land acquisition case files, 1934-44.
96.4.5 Records of Region 5, Montgomery, AL (SC, GA, AL, FL)
Textual Records (in Atlanta): General correspondence, 1934-42. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-41. Correspondence relating to proposed projects, 1934-41; and a project construction file, 1938-41, of the Resettlement Division.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (1,139 items): Paper tracings and blueprints showing details of steel houses on Ashwood Plantation, SC, and cotton structures on Coffee County Farms, AL, 1936-38. SEE ALSO 96.6.
96.4.6 Records of Region 6, Little Rock, AR (AR, MS, LA)
Textual Records (in Fort Worth): Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46.
96.4.7 Records of Region 7, Lincoln, NE (ND, SD, NE, KS [pt.])
Textual Records (in Kansas City): General correspondence, 1935- 47. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46. Resettlement Division project records, 1938-43.
96.4.8 Records of Region 8, Dallas, TX (OK [pt.], TX [pt.])
Textual Records (in Fort Worth): General correspondence, 1935-42. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46. Resettlement Division project records, 1936-42.
96.4.9 Records of Region 9, San Francisco, CA (CA, NV, UT, AZ)
Textual Records (in San Francisco): General correspondence, 1935- 45. Records relating to migratory labor camps in the Central Valley of California, 1935-46. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46. Correspondence of the Resettlement Division concerning resettlement projects in Utah, 1935-37. Farm and home plans in HI and CA, from Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46.
Maps (87 items, in San Francisco): Resettlement Division Price River and Elberta, UT, projects, and projects in Uintah County, UT, 1935-37 (9 items). Cities, counties, and communities in California, 1935-42 (73 items). Proposed Indian projects, 1935-42 (5 items). SEE ALSO 96.6.
Architectural Plans (20 items, in San Francisco): Federal Housing Garden Project, Los Angeles, CA, and proposed projects in Ventura County, CA; Diamond Springs Industrial Park, El Dorado County, CA; and in AR, 1935-42. SEE ALSO 96.6.
Photographs (115 images, in San Francisco): Utah projects of the Resettlement Division, including views of Price and Helper, UT; Carbon County, UT, showing effects of alkali waste and erosion; and miners and settlers, 1935-37 (20 images). Fontana, CA, 1935- 42 (25 images). Families, homes, irrigation and agricultural projects, and land contours, including views of Ventura, CA, housing; Diamond Springs Industrial Park, El Dorado County, CA; an agricultural colonization project in Arkansas; and Federal Housing Garden Project, Los Angeles, CA, 1935-42 (70 images). SEE ALSO 96.9.
Subject Access Terms: Green River Farms, UT; Japanese-American relocations; Tule Lake Relocation Center, CA; Century Boulevard Gardens, Los Angeles, CA; Negro housing.
96.4.10 Records of Region 10, Denver, CO (MT, WY, CO [pt.])
Textual Records (in Denver): General correspondence, 1935-43. Administrative reports, 1935-43. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files, 1938-46. Records of the Resettlement Division, consisting of resettlement surveys, Phillips and Teton Counties, MT, 1933-34; resettlement projects file, including projects in KS, NE, NM, OK, and TX, 1934-43; preliminary planning and reference files for proposed projects, 1934-43; and land acquisition case files, 1936-44.
96.4.11 Records of Region 11, Portland, OR (AK, WA, OR, ID)
Textual Records (in Seattle): General correspondence of the Portland, OR, regional office, 1934-47. Rural Rehabilitation Division farm ownership case files for Idaho, 1938-46. General correspondence, 1935-42, and project correspondence, 1938-45, of the Resettlement Division. Plans and specifications for Snohomish Farms Project, WA, 1937.
96.4.12 Records of Region 12, Amarillo, TX (CO [pt.], KS [pt.],
TX [pt.], NM, OK [pt.])
Textual Records (in Fort Worth): General correspondence, 1935-42.
96.5 RECORDS OF COUNTY OFFICES
1934-44
Textual Records: Case files for paid rural rehabilitation loans made in 145 selected counties of the following 43 states, 1934- 44: ME, NH, VT (in Boston); NJ, NY (in New York); MD, PA, VA, WV (in Philadelphia); AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN (in Atlanta); IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI (in Chicago); IA, KS, MO (in Kansas City); AR, LA, NM, OK, TX (in Fort Worth); CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY (in Denver); AZ, CA [Orange County only] (in Los Angeles); CA [except Orange County], NV (in San Francisco); and ID, WA, OR (in Seattle).
Finding Aids: List of counties in PI 118, Appendix IV.
96.6 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
SEE Maps UNDER 96.2.1, 96.2.10, 96.4.2, and 96.4.9.
SEE Architectural and Engineering Plans UNDER 96.2.4 and 96.4.5.
SEE Architectural Plans UNDER 96.4.9.
96.7 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
SEE UNDER 96.2.9.
96.8 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)SEE UNDER 96.2.9.
96.9 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
1946
575 images
Photographic Negatives: Farmers and their families at work, 1946 (FHA).
SEE Photographs UNDER 96.4.9.
Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.
This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.
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