Creator: Planning Commission (RG 15).

Collection Summary: Files related to a park, parkway and recreational area survey/study of each county in Mississippi undertaken by the State Planning Commission, with additional aid and funding from the Works Projects Administration. Files typically contain rough typescripts and WPA data-gathering worksheets concerning each county’s topography, climate, population, and other features, particularly those which relate to recreational activities: lakes, historical sites, camps, etc. Financial data and information on sixteenth-section lands in each county are also included. There is one file for each county in Mississippi, arranged alphabetically. In addition, the collection contains larger county maps that have been hand-annotated with symbols representing roads, fishing camps, lakes, rivers, streams, historic homes, organized camps, Indian mounds, airports, radio beacons, railroads, state parks and other recreational areas. These larger maps typically measure from 18” x 22” to 20” x 24”. Three counties are not represented by oversize maps:  Adams, Leake, and Union.

Access Restrictions: None

Date(s): 1939-1940; undated.

Volume: 2.75 Cubic Feet 

Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in August 2024 

Related Materials: TBD

Record Group History: The Mississippi Planning Commission was created by the Mississippi Senate via Senate Bill 551 in 1936. The Commission was tasked with creating a master plan for the physical development of the state and prepare a program for the continued development of major improvements in the state. Additional duties of the commission were the preparation of maps and surveys for the use of state agencies and the performance of administrative and engineering work throughout Mississippi. In 1940, the commission was abolished, and its duties were transferred to the newly created Board of Development. 

Collection Inventory:
Box Content 

Box Number

Adams – Grenada counties

597

Hancock – Lincoln counties   

598

Lowndes – Stone counties

599

Tallahatchie – Wilkinson counties

600

Winston – Yazoo counties

20024

Oversize county maps29423