Creator: Work Projects Administration (RG 60).

Collection Summary: Transcriptions of records from General Land Office at Jackson created by employees of the Historical Records Survey in the late 1930s from original records then held by the State Land Commissioner. The transcriptions include the following: Abstract of land patents, Jackson, ca. 1824-1853; Choctaw District field notes of Edward R. Downing, undated; field notebook of E.H. Wailes, 1823; field notes, 1821; land patent book for Jackson, 1841-1919; and correspondence of Levin Wailes and Benjamin L.C. Wailes, 1795-1859 (indexed).

Access Restrictions: None.

Date(s): 1936-1939.

Volume: 0.50 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

Abstract of land patents, Jackson: 1824-185311089
Correspondence of Levin & B.L.C. Wailes: 1795-1859 (indexed)11089
Edward R. Downing field notes in Choctaw District: n.d.11089
Field notebook of E.H. Wailes: 182311089
Field notes: 182111089
Land patent book for Jackson: 1841 (Feb) - 1919 (May)11089