Creator: Work Projects Administration (RG 60).

Collection Summary: Narrative essays on Mississippi history, culture, industry, geography, personalities and demographics written by Federal Writers’ Project field workers. The essays generally include references. Although this information was compiled for the purposes of publication, it is unclear whether this material was intended for a specific publication or was simply source material to be used as a base for many different publications. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Access Restrictions: None.

Date(s): 1936-1941.

Volume: 25.50 Cubic Feet.

Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in September 2024.

Related Materials: Series 434: Federal Writers’ Project General Essay Drafts. 1936-1942. Series 437: Mississippi Factbook Source Material. 1936-1941. Series 438: Federal Writers’ Project Folklore Essays. 1936-1939.

Record Group History: The Works Projects Administration (WPA) was a federal program established on May 6th, 1935, in order to increase employment during the Great Depression. While the WPA was a federal program, it was implemented and managed on the state level with each state having their own director and office to guide the operation of the WPA for each state. The WPA was primarily focused on employing individuals for the purpose of creating public works and infrastructure, but a small portion of its funding was devoted to cultural and artistic endeavors which the files in this collection are primarily concerned with. Two of the major cultural projects the WPA undertook were the Federal Writers’ Project and the Historical Records Survey. The Federal Writers Project employed writers to create guides, histories, and chronicles for each state and the Historical Records Survey sought to catalogue the historical records of each state.

Collection Inventory:
Box Content Box Number
Accommodations - Agriculture10565
Agriculture10566
Archeological Sites - Arts (drama)10567
Arts (literature)10568
Arts (music) - Bank of Mississippi10569
Bank of Mississippi - Bibliography10570
Biographies10571
Biographies10572
Biographies - Bodies of Water10573
Bodies of Water - Child Protection Program10574
Cartography10575
Chunky Creek10576
Churches - Collections (private)10577
Constitutions and County Government formation10578
County Officers - Sam Dale10579
Education - Exports and Imports10581
Fairs – Flora10582
Forests - Governor's Mansion10583
Gulf Coast (Agriculture - Information)10584
Gulf Coast (Old Homes - Transportation)10585
Health10586
Health and Mental Hospitals10587
Health Plays and History10588
History10589
History10590
Hunting - Industry10591
Industry and Information10592
Information - Jackson (Chamber of Commerce - Health)10593
Jackson (Negroes - Transportation)10597
Jackson (History, 1820-1869)10594
Jackson (History, 1870-1920)10595
Jackson (History, 1921-1939 - Municipal Services)10596
Jefferson Davis10580
Maps - Old Historic Homes10598
Old Historic Homes and Organizations10599
Origin of Names - Parks10600
Penal Institutions - Plays10601
Plays and Points of Interest10602
Points of Interest - Press10603
Press - Races and Nationalities10604
Reconstruction - Seafood industry10605
Seafood Industry - Soils and Minerals10606
Soils and Minerals - Tourist Information10607
Stories and Plays10612
Stories and Plays10611
Stories and Plays10613
Towns and Place Names10614
Towns and Place Names10615
Towns - Transportation (Railroad History)10608
Transportation 10609
Transportation - Zoning Laws10610