Guide to Archival Holdings (RG 111-188)

• 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 Office of the Chief Signal Officer (RG 111)

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: 1943-1946
Volume: 1 cubic foot
 
Records of the Signal Depot, Los Angeles. The records document storage, issuance, maintenance, and repair of Signal Corps equipment, including provision of equipment to the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation, the Desert Training Center in San Bernardino County, and to Mexico. Included are activity reports, history files, memorandums, and organizational charts.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (RG 114)

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.

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: 1875-1974
Volume: 244 cubic feet

• Arizona, District, 1899-1912. Records relate to the enforcement of corporation income tax laws and are primarily correspondence.
• California, Central District, 1950-1974. Records are precedent civil and criminal case files (selected by the U.S. attorney because of legal precedent, relationship to civil disturbances, or intensity of public interest.)

Records of the Public Buildings Service (RG 121)

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: 1932
Volume: 2 cubic feet
 
Records of the Design and Construction Division. The nontextual records document interior design elements for the Los Angeles Federal Court House. They are watercolors.

Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service (RG 136)

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: 1935-1940
Volume: 2 cubic feet

Records of the Division of Marketing and Marketing Agreements. The records relate to the administration of field offices and are correspondence and reports.

Finding Aid

Virgil E. Baugh, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service, NC 118 (1965).

Records of the Selective Service System, 1940- (RG 147)

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 of the District 2 draft board, Pima County, Arizona. The records document registration and enlistment of recruits and are minute books.

Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance (RG 156)

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.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

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

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: 31 cubic feet
 
Records of local boards in Arizona and southern California. The records usually contain only an individual's name, county of residence, and dates of actions taken (such as notification of induction). There are some appeals to the President for agricultural exemptions. Some records include names of: men ordered to report for induction (lists);
deserters (indexes to files); delinquents and deserters (final lists). The records are docket sheets, indexes, and lists.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (RG 165)

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: 2 cubic feet

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.
War Department, Military Intelligence Division Plant Protection Subject Files at NARA's Pacific Region (Riverside)

Records of the Drug Enforcement Administration (RG 170)

Administrative History

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created in July 1973 by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973 (5 U.S.C. app.), which merged four separate drug law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The agency's responsibilities include investigating major narcotic violators at interstate and international levels, enforcing Federal regulations on the legal manufacture and distribution of controlled substances, managing a national narcotics intelligence system, coordinating with Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities, training, conducting scientific research, and exchanging information about drug traffic prevention and control.

Records Description

Dates: 1972-1974
Volume: 7 cubic feet

Records of the Regional Counsel, Office of the Narcotics Task Force, Los Angeles. The records relate to administrative operations of the Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (DALE) project. They are primarily correspondence.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Records of the Office of Civilian Defense (RG 171)

Administrative History

The Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) was established in the Office for Emergency Management by an executive order of May 20, 1941, to coordinate Federal, State and local defense relationships regarding the protection of civilians during air raids and other emergencies, and to facilitate civilian participation in war programs. It took over the functions and records of the Division of State and Local Cooperation of the Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense. Fiscal, budgetary, and personnel responsibilities for the OCD were handled by the Division of Central Administrative Services of the Office for Emergency Management until 1942 when these responsibilities, with minor exceptions, were transferred to the OCD. The nine regional offices that coordinated the work of State and local defense organizations were closed June 30, 1944, and an executive order of June 4, 1945, terminated the OCD.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments (RG 181)

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: 1916-1959
Volume: 1,684 cubic feet

• Civil Engineering Laboratory, Port Hueneme project files, 1943-1970;
• U.S. Naval Base, Los Angeles/Long Beach central subject files, 1948-1953;
• 11th Naval District, San Diego Commandant's Office central subject files, 1923-1959, and formerly classified correspondence, 1921-1947; Assistant Chief of Staff (Naval Reserves and Training) correspondence relating to merchant marine naval reserve personnel, 1924-1946, and correspondence relating to recruitment of naval reserve officer personnel, 1925-1943; Assistant Chief of Staff (Operations) central subject files, 1934-1950; Assistant Chief of Staff (Personnel) central subject files, 1938-1954; Communications Office central subject files, 1916-1947; Convoy and Routing Office subject files, 1941-1946; District Director of Material central subject files, 1939-1946; District Director of Naval Reserves central subject files, 1943-1949; Industrial Manager central subject files, 1938-1945; Legal Office central subject files, 1943-1950; Planning Office central subject files, 1925-1950; Public Works Office contracts for soil surveys and tests, 1927-1958;
• Naval Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, research and development technical reports, 1942-1953, and engineering notebooks, 1941-1971;
• Naval Operating Base, San Pedro Commandants Office central subject files, 1940-1947; Assistant Industrial Manager 's central subject files, 1940-1947; Legal Office courts of inquiry files, 1941-1947; Mine Disposal Unit subject files, 1941-1946; Naval Drydocks manual of operations, 1944; Roosevelt Base central subject files, 1944-1946;
• U.S. Naval Station, Long Beach central subject files, 1953-1956;
• U.S. Naval Supply Depot, San Pedro;
• Naval Weapons Test Center, China Lake central subject files, 1944-1958, and project files, 1942-1981;
• Pacific Missile Test Center, Point Mugu central subject files, 1946-1959, and photographs, 1945-1977.

The records document administration and general operations of the districts. Most are arranged according to the subject classification scheme of the Navy Filing Manual (A series), 1942-1956. Some records concern the 1943 Zoot Suit riots, a week of rioting between military personnel and civilian Mexican youths in Los Angeles. There are correspondence, histories, organizational charts, regulations, and reports. Nontextual records include maps and photographs.
 
Finding Aid
Draft inventory.
 Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments in the Regional Archives Part of Record Group 181, SL 58 (1991).
 
Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted because of national security classification.

Records of the Office of Price Administration (RG 188)

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 of the Price and Rationing Division, Phoenix. The records relate to retail grocery stores, ceiling prices of meat and other foods, and rationing. Included are applications for licenses, correspondence, grocery survey worksheets, and ration reports.

Finding Aid

Draft inventory.

Meyer H. Fishbein and Elaine C. Bennett, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Accounting Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 32 (1951).

 Fishbein, Walter Weinstein, and Albert W. Winthrop, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Price Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 95 (1956).

 Fishbein, et al., comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Rationing Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 102 (1958).

 Betty R. Bucher, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Information Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 119 (1959).

 Fishbein and Bucher, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Office of Price Administration, PI 120 (1959).

RG 15 through RG 49 || RG 54 through RG 96 || RG 111 through RG 188 || RG 202 through RG 270 || RG 310 through Donated Materials