Creator: Work Projects Administration (RG 60).

Collection Summary: Reporting forms for the Historical Records Survey’s inventory of original county records. "Title line" typically refers to the title of a bound volume, though other types of records - such as collections of files stored in boxes, maps, etc. - are also inventoried. Other information usually includes the name of office that generated the records, the records’ arrangement, and whether or not they are indexed. The inventories range from 45-90% complete. Files are arranged alphabetically by county.

Access Restrictions: None.

Date(s): 1936-1939.

Volume: 3.50 Cubic Feet.

Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in October 2024.

Related Materials: TBD.

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

Alcorn - Clay Counties10955
Coahoma - Jackson Counties10956
Jasper - Lawrence Counties10957
Leake - Newton Counties10958
Noxubee - Scott Counties10959
Sharkey - Tishomingo Counties10960
Tunica - Yazoo Counties10961