Series 1824: Historic American Building Survey Photographs. 1934-1975.
Dept. of Archives and History (RG 31). Historic Preservation

Series 1824: Historic American Building Survey Photographs. 1934-1975.
Dept. of Archives and History (RG 31). Historic Preservation

Historic American Building Survey (HABS) photographs and supporting documentation. The series consists of photographs produced by HABS and reproduced from the collection maintained by the Library of Congress (LC). Many of the 1972 images are accompanied by HABS work sheets completed by Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) Historic Preservation architectural historians. The HABS number assigned to each building is visible in many of the images.

The records are foldered in alphabetical order by county and name of building. Each image has been numbered by MDAH and is listed in the table in the Official Records Photograph Guide. The photograph list arrangement corresponds with the physical arrangement of the records.

Historical Note

The Historic American Building Survey began in 1933 as a cooperative effort of the National Park Service (NPS), LC, and the American Institute of Architects (AIA).¹ The aim of this Depression Era initiative was twofold: to compile a record of America's historic buildings and to provide work for unemployed architects and related professionals.² The NPS served as administrator, LC as record keeper, and AIA performed in an advisory capacity. HABS's mission was written into law by the 1935 Historic Sites Act (P.L. 74-292; 16 USC 461-467) and 1966 National Historic Preservation Act (PL 89-665; USC 470) as amended in 1980 (PL 96-515; 16 USC 470). In 1969 HABS was joined by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) to document the nation's industrial heritage.

Although initially the program provided work for unemployed architects, after World War II the survey was increasingly conducted by teams of students working in the summer. HABS also formed close ties with local preservation agencies.³ In Mississippi, Work Projects Administration (WPA) records indicate that HABS cooperated with WPA field workers from 1936-1939 to document historic structures in the state. More recently, HABS has worked in conjunction with the MDAH Historic Preservation Division which was designated as the state's Historic Preservation Office by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, and is charged with the task of maintaining an inventory of culturally significant sites in the state.⁴

Photograph List

1. Co. - the Mississippi county in which the image is located as listed on the item, or as identified by the archivist. Standard county abbreviations have been used (see list below).
2. Town/City - the location of the image as listed on the item, or as identified by the archivist. If the image is located in the vicinity of a town/city the abbreviation "vic." is used.
3. Description - a brief description of the image as listed on the item, or as identified by the archivist. Current standard abbreviations have been used for Mississippi institutions of higher learning (see list below). Alternate building names are listed in parentheses.
4. HABS # - number assigned to the building by HABS. The numbers were obtained from a listing for Mississippi in Historic American Buildings Structures and Sites (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1983), 474-479; and from listings generated by MDAH Historic Preservation architectural historians.
5. Date - the exact or approximate date of the image as listed on the item, or as identified by the archivist.
6. Photographer: Studio - the name of the photographer as listed on the item, or as identified by the archivist. Other individuals associated with the creation of the image are also included here, followed by their job title in parentheses. The name of the photographic studio is preceded by a colon.
7. Form - the format of the image is listed as "b" for black and white, or "c" for a color image.
8. Box#- the number of the box in which the image is located (For box location see listing above).
9. FF# - the number of the file folder in which the image is located.
10. Image# - the number of each individual image (on the actual photograph this number is preceded by the series number and is written either on the back of the image, or on the page next to the image). If the image is a duplicate the abbreviation "dup." follows the number.

Institutions of Higher Learning:

ASU - Alcorn State University
DSU - Delta State University
JSU - Jackson State University
MC - Mississippi College
MUW - Mississippi College for Women
MSU - Mississippi State University
UM - The University of Mississippi
UMC - University Medical Center
USM - The University of Southern Mississippi
USM, Gulf Coast Branch
MVS - Mississippi Valley State

Footnotes:

1. "Documenting a Legacy: 40 Years of the Historic American Building Survey" Library of Congress (October, 1973), 269.
2. Historic American Buildings Structures and Sites (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1983), ix.
3. Historic American Building Survey, brochure produced by the Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, U.S. Deptartment of the Interior, Washington D.C., 1980.
4. Robert J. Bailey, "Mississippi's Approach to the Statewide Survey," Historic Preservation in Mississippi: A Comprehensive Plan, edited by Robert J. Bailey and Priscilla M. Lowery (Jackson, MS: MDAH, 1976): 107.