Record Groups 100 - 188

This information from the Archival Holdings Guide comprises Record Groups 100 through 188. (Go to the Numerical List of Record Groups)

Record Group 100
Records of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Administrative History
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was established on April 28, 1971, in the Department of Labor by the Act of December 29, 1970. OSHA absorbed the Bureau of Labor Standards on May 1, 1971. The agency develops and issues occupational safety and health standards and regulations. It conducts inspections and investigations, and issues citations and proposes penalties for noncompliance with safety and health standards and regulations.

Records Description
Dates: 1971-1990
Volume: 432 cubic feet
Records of the following offices:

• OSHA Training Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1976-1990;
• OSHA Office, Appleton, Wisconsin, 1977-1978;
• OSHA Office, Belleville, Illinois, 1974-1987;
• OSHA Office, Calumet, Illinois, 1977-1987;
• OSHA Office, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1981-1987;
• OSHA Office, Cleveland, Ohio, 1974-1986;
• OSHA Office, Columbus, Ohio, 1971-1974, 1986;
• OSHA Office, Des Plaines, Illinois, 1971-1982, 1987;
• OSHA Office, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 1981-1986;
• OSHA Office, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1974-1986;
• OSHA Office, Madison, Wisconsin, 1983-1986;
• OSHA Office, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1974-1987;
• OSHA Office, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1972-1978;
• OSHA Office, Niles, Illinois, 1971-1976, 1983-1985;
• OSHA Office, North Aurora, Illinois, 1974-1987;
• OSHA Office, Peoria, Illinois, 1972-1987;
• OSHA Office, Toledo, Ohio, 1972-1986.

The records are mainly Safety Fatalities and Catastrophes Inspection Case Files. They relate to accidents and employee complaints in the work place, and the enforcement of and compliance with Federal safety and health regulations. They are case files.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

Record Group 101
Records of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Administrative History
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was created as an integral part of the national banking system by an act of Congress of February 25, 1863. The Comptroller, as the administrator of national banks, is responsible for the execution of laws relating to national banks and the promulgation of rules and regulations governing national banks in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. The Office of the Comptroller exercises general supervision over the operations of national banks, including trust activities, and overseas operations. Each bank is examined periodically through a nationwide staff of bank examiners. These examinations operate in the public interest by assisting the Comptroller in appraising the financial condition of banks.

Records Description
Dates: 1983
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records of the following offices:

• Central District, Chicago
  Inactive Bank Case Files, Peoples National Bank, Versailles, OH.

The records document national banks and bank-related institutions which become inactive, including Corporate History File (2.1), corporate applications (2.2), collective investment fund file (2.13), and supervisory records(2.3). The records exclude bank examination working papers and closing books.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due to privacy and/or banking concerns.

Record Group 103
Records of the Farm Credit Administration

Administrative History
The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) was established March 27, 1933, as an independent agency to consolidate the functions of various Federal agencies concerned with agricultural credit. It established production credit corporations and created banks for cooperatives as a source of credit for farmers. From 1939 to 1953, the FCA was part of the Department of Agriculture but again became an independent agency thereafter. The Administration supervises and coordinates the activities of the Farm Credit System, a cooperative association of Federal land banks, intermediate credit banks, and other institutions financing farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, owners of farm-related businesses, commercial fishermen, and banks for cooperatives making loans of all kinds to agricultural and marine cooperatives. The System was created in response to the Great Depression and farm crisis of the 1930's.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1951
Volume: 76 cubic feet
Records of the following land banks and corporations:

• Louisville Federal Land Bank (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee), 1945-1950;
• St. Louis Federal Land Bank (Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri), 1944-1951;
• St. Paul Federal Land Bank (Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin), 1945-1950.

The records relate to disposal of surplus real property under the Surplus Property Act of 1944. Federal land banks functioned as agents for the Farm Credit Administration in these proceedings. The tracts sold were located on military installations, such as air bases, housing projects for workers, and ordnance plants. Included are project files containing appraisal reports, correspondence, deeds, notices of sale of property, tract descriptions, and related items. Nontextual records include maps.

Records of the following land banks and corporations:

• Bankers Joint Stock Land Bank, Milwaukee, 1918-1937;
• Central Illinois Joint Stock Land Bank, Greenville, 1922-1925;
• First Joint Stock Land Bank, Chicago, 1917-1926;
• Grain Stabilization Corporation, 1930-1934;
• Minneapolis Joint Stock Land Bank, 1919-1923;
• Ohio Joint Stock Land Bank, Cincinnati, 1922-1932;
• Southern Minnesota Joint Stock Land Bank, Redwood Falls, 1919-1932.

The records document the joint stock land banks' fiscal administration, mortgage loans made to individuals, liquidation of the Grain Stabilization Corporation, and the coffee-wheat agreement between the United States and Brazil. Included are correspondence, minutes of meetings, and reports. See RG 156, RG 270 and RG 291 for related records.

Finding Aids
Box contents lists.

Draft inventory.

Entries 8 through 17, 66, 68 through 70, and 72 in Daniel T. Goggin, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Farm Credit Administration, NC 28 (1963).

Record Group 110
Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War)

Administrative History
The Provost Marshal General's Bureau was established under the provisions of the enrollment act of March 3, 1863. It centralized the duties of enrolling, drafting, and recruiting men for service, which had previously been carried out by individual States. The main operations of these functions remained in the States, but they were supervised and regulated by the Provost Marshal General. Enrollment districts were created based on the number of congressional districts, and a provost marshal was assigned to each district. In each district a board of enrollment was formed, composed of the district provost marshal, a commissioner, and a surgeon. The duties of the board included the enrollment of men within the district and the examination of persons enrolled, drafted, or recruited. Each district was divided into sub-districts that were based on population or geography. Quotas and credits reported by the provost marshals were generally recorded by sub-district number, and enrollment and draft lists were usually arranged in the same manner. The provost marshals had charge of reporting and arresting deserters, detecting spies, and enrolling, drafting, recruiting, and dispatching drafted men and substitutes to rendezvous or depots. The provost marshals reported to and were supervised by State or Territorial acting assistant provost marshal generals. Acting assistant provost marshal generals were appointed to States and to Territories to coordinate the activities of the districts in their areas and to act as intermediaries between the Provost Marshal General's Office in Washington, DC and State agencies. Persons appointed as acting assistant provost marshal generals usually were officers who were incapable of active duty in the national forces. They served also as superintendents of the volunteer recruiting service and frequently as mustering and disbursing officers. One acting assistant provost marshal general was assigned to each State and one to two or more Territories, with the exception that a State with a small population shared the services of the acting assistant marshal general in a nearby State. The Provost Marshal General's Office was abolished effective August 28, 1866.

Records Description
Dates: 1861-1867
Volume: 364 cubic feet
Records created at State and District Provost Marshal General Offices by the acting assistant provost marshal general; the superintendent of the volunteer recruiting service; the chief mustering and disbursing officer; enrollment districts; and draft rendezvous for Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The records relate to the recruitment, examination, and enrollment of Civil War soldiers; the imprisonment of deserters and spies; the draft; substitutes; and operations of the Veteran Reserve Corps. They are circulars, correspondence, descriptive books, general and special orders, memorandums, morning reports, musters, registers, and telegrams.

Finding Aid
For Illinois, entries 5358 through 5892 in NM 82; for Indiana, entries 5055 through 5357 in NM80; for Michigan, entries 5893 through 6102 in NM 82; for Minnesota, entries 6581 through 6699 in NM 83; for Ohio, entries 4447 through 5054 in NM 80; and for Wisconsin, entries 6103 through 6353 in NM 82 in Patricia Andrews, et al., comps., "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War)," Parts 1-8, NM 65, 67, 71, 73, 76, 80, 82, 83 (1966-1967)., NM 20 (1964).

Record Group 111
Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

Administrative History
The Signal Corps, administered by the Chief Signal Officer, was provisionally established by War Department General Order 73 of March 24, 1863. The Office of the Chief Signal Officer was placed under the jurisdiction of Services of Supply (later designated Army Service Forces) in 1942; under the General Staff of the War Department in 1946; and under the General Staff of the Department of the Army in 1947. In 1964, the Office of the Chief Signal Officer became the Office of the Chief of Communications Electronics.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1962
Volume: 8 cubic feet
Records relating to the following operations:

• Chicago Signal Corps Inspection Zone;
• Chicago Signal Depot;
• Chicago Signal Procurement District;
• Dayton, Ohio, Signal Supply Agency;
• Decatur, Illinois, Signal Depot.

The records document administration and operations. Included are histories of the Chicago Signal Depot, Dayton Signal Supply Agency, and the Decatur Signal Depot. The records contain brochures, charts, correspondence, general orders, manuals, reports, and speeches. Nontextual records include photographs.

Record Group 112
Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army)

Administrative History
The Office of the Surgeon General was established by an act of April 14, 1818. It is the headquarters of the Army Medical Department whose mission is to maintain the health of the Army and conserve its fighting strength. Components of the Office include the Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Army Nurse Corps, and Army Medical Specialist Corps.

Records Description
Dates: 1863-1963
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records of the Army Medical Examining Board, Cincinnati, 1863-1865, and the U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, 1954-1963. The records document army hospital administration and the examination of potential candidates for appointment as Assistant Surgeons of Volunteers. Included are correspondence, general orders, lists of candidates, minutes of meetings, and reports.

Finding Aid
Entries 313 through 315 in Patricia Andrews, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the Office of the Surgeon General (Army), NM 20 (1964).

Record Group 114
Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Administrative History
The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) was established in the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1935, replacing the Soil Erosion Service which had been established in 1933, and acquiring duties from other Government agencies. In 1937, it began to provide technical and other assistance to farmers in soil conservation districts organized under State laws. In 1938, the SCS was given responsibility for farm forestry programs; in 1944, it was given responsibility for assisting in water conservation programs; and in 1952, it was authorized to assume the soil survey previously run by other USDA units. The SCS conducts soil and snow surveys, river basin surveys, and investigations and watershed activities; assists local groups in planning and developing land and water resources; and gives technical help to landowners and operators who participate in USDA's agricultural conservation, cropland conversion, and cropland adjustment programs.

In 1935, regional offices were established to supervise conservation work in large geographic areas and in 1938 1939 area offices were created to assist the regional offices. State offices replaced area offices in 1942. Regional offices were discontinued in 1954, and the SCS now relies on State offices to give technical and administrative supervision to local units.

Records Description
Dates: 1933-1967
Volume: 113 cubic feet
Records of the following regions:
Ohio Valley, Dayton (Region 3), including State offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia, 1935-1942. Upper Mississippi, Milwaukee (Region 5), including State offices in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 1933-1939 (in 1942 Region 5 was reorganized as Region 3) and the following State offices:

• Caledonia, Minnesota, 1934-1937;
• Faribault, Minnesota, 1936-1938;
• Humboldt, Tennessee, 1936-1942;
• La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1933-1937;
• Lexington, Kentucky, 1935-1942;
• Shenandoah, Iowa, 1933-1936;
• Spring Valley, Minnesota, 1936-1939;
• St. Paul, Minnesota, 1935-1938;
• Winona, Minnesota, 1936-1937.

The records relate to most aspects of the mission and administration of the regional offices, and document such activities as agronomy, the Civilian Conservation Corps, employment, and soil surveys. Included are bulletins, correspondence, project files, and reports.

Records of the following Civilian Conservation Corps camps:

• Lake City, Minnesota, 1936-1937;
• Lanesboro, Missouri, 1936-1939;
• Red Wing, Minnesota, 1935-1939;
• Waterville, Minnesota, 1935-1940.

The records document camp activities, administration, and training. They are correspondence Records of the following nurseries, project works, and watershed projects:

• Flat Creek Watershed, Indiana, 1953-1959;
• Nursery, Ames, Iowa, 1934-1939;
• Project Work Plans, Ohio, 1935-1940;
• Raccoon Creek, Indiana, 1966-1967.

The records document the development, construction, and administration of these projects. They include construction plans (containing cost and design data, and laboratory test results), contracts, correspondence, engineers' field notebooks, and progress reports. Nontextual records include drawings, maps, and photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Entries 162, 164, 171, 175, and 189 in Guy A. Lee and Penney F. Freeland, Preliminary Checklist of Records of the Soil Conservation Service, 1928-1943, PC52 (1947).

Record Group 118
Records of United States Attorneys

Administrative History
The Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789, made provision for U.S. attorneys and marshals who are appointed by the President and have functioned under the general supervision of the Department of Justice since its creation in 1870.

U.S. attorneys investigate violations of Federal criminal laws, present evidence to grand juries, prosecute Federal criminal cases, and serve as the Federal Government's attorney in civil litigation in which the United States is involved or has an interest.

Records Description
Dates: 1869-1976
Volume: 278 cubic feet
Records of the following U.S. attorneys:

• Illinois, Northern District. Precedent case files, 1936-1971
• Illinois, Southern District. Precedent case files, 1944-1963
• Michigan, Eastern District. Precedent case files, 1936-1976
• Michigan, Western District. Precedent case files, 1891-1926
• Minnesota, District. Precedent case files, 1940-1959; criminal dockets, 1882-1885; evidential materials in Native American land allotment fraud cases, 1910-1912; letters sent, 1876-1877; letters received, 1869-1899; and case files, ca. 1891-1906, including cases involving timber trespass and the sale of liquor to Native Americans.
• Ohio, Northern District. Precedent case files, 1922-1974
• Ohio, Southern District. Precedent case files, 1941-1959
• Wisconsin, Western District. Correspondence relating to Native American matters, 1894-1898; and 1903-1908; and precedent case files, 1892-1971.

The records relate to bribery, civil rights, claims by Indian tribes and the status of restricted tribal land, conspiracy, draft evasion, fraud, internal revenue and firearms laws, and school desegregation. They generally include attorney's work papers, copies of papers filed in Federal court (see RG 21 for the originals), correspondence with the Department of Justice and other government agencies, investigative reports, newspaper clippings, and trial notes. Nontextual records include photographs and other exhibit material. See RG 21, RG 276, and RG 527 for related records.

Finding Aids
For Illinois, Northern District, Precedent Case Files, 1936-1971: box contents list.

Draft inventory of some records.

Related Microfilm Publications
M699, Letters Sent by the Department of Justice: General and Miscellaneous, 1818-1904;
M700, Letters Sent by the Department of Justice Concerning Judiciary Expenses, 1849-1884;
M1362, Letters Received by the Department of Justice from the State of Kentucky, 1871-1884;
T326, Letters From and Opinions of the Attorneys General, 1791-1811;
T411, Letters Sent by the Attorney General's Office, 1817-1858;
T412, Opinions of the Attorney General, 1817-32;
T577, Index to Names of U.S. Marshals, 1789-1960;
T969, Letters Sent by the Attorney General.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted because of law enforcement and privacy concerns.

Record Group 121
Records of the Public Buildings Service

Administrative History
Established in the General Services Administration (GSA), December 11, 1949, to supersede the Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency (FWA), abolished by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (63 Stat. 380), June 30, 1949. Designs, constructs, manages, maintains, and protects most federally owned and leased buildings. Acquires, utilizes, and has custody of GSA property.

Records Description
Dates: 1903-1984
Volume: 5 cubic feet
Records of Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), Chicago. The records document the acquisition of land for Federal facilities. The records are correspondence, deeds, easements, leases, newspaper clippings, and titles of insurance. Nontextual records include architectural and engineering drawings.

Finding Aids
For Region 5, Chicago, Title Document Files: folder title list.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted because of privacy concerns.

Record Group 127
Records of the U.S. Marine Corps

Administrative History
The U.S. Marine Corps was created by an act of July 11, 1798, which authorized the commandant of the Corps to appoint an adjutant, a paymaster, and a quartermaster. Around those three staff officers and the Commandant the branches of Marine Corps Headquarters developed. Although the Corps was at first subject to both Army and Navy regulation, an act of June 30, 1834, placed it under exclusive U.S. Navy control except for units detached by Presidential order for Army service. A staff system in the headquarters organization was begun in 1918 when the first of many sections and divisions was created in the Office of the Commandant. When Headquarters was reorganized along General Staff lines in 1952, the Division of Plans and Policies was abolished and its sections, G-1 through G-4, were elevated to divisional status under assistant chiefs of staff.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for all administrative and operational matters affecting the Corps. These include providing amphibious forces for service with the fleet in seizing and defending advanced naval bases, and conducting land operations essential to a naval campaign. Other duties include providing detachments to serve on naval ships and to protect property of naval activities.

Records Description
Dates: 1947-1952
Volume: 59.34 cubic feet
Records of the Marine Air Reserve Training Command, Glenview Naval Air Station, Glenview, IL. The records document administration and general operations. The records are primarily correspondence, dispatches, manuals, reports, and routing slips.

Record Group 133
Records of the Federal Coordinator of Transportation

Administrative History
The Office of the Federal Coordinator of Transportation was created by the Emergency Transportation Act of June 16, 1933. The mission of the Federal Coordinator, who was appointed by the President, was to relieve the existing national emergency in interstate railroad transportation and safeguard the national transportation system. Field offices were created for the Eastern Region in New York City, the Western Region in Chicago, and the Southern Region in Atlanta. Coordinating committees of carrier representatives, along with advisory committees representing railroad labor and other railroad organizations, were appointed in each region. Sections were established in headquarters to perform comprehensive studies on car pooling, labor relations, property and equipment, research, and transportation and service. The office was terminated in 1936.

Records Description
Dates: 1933-1936
Volume: 38 cubic feet

Record Group 136
Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service

Administrative History
The Agricultural Marketing Service was established in the Department of Agriculture in 1939 to consolidate agricultural marketing and related activities such as collecting and interpreting agricultural statistics, performing market inspection and grading services, and establishing official grade standards for many farm products. Its predecessors included the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The service was discontinued in 1942 and its functions performed by other agencies. A new Agricultural Marketing Service was established in 1953 and was renamed the Consumer and Marketing Service between 1965 and 1972.

Records Description
Dates: 1934-1940
Volume: 2 cubic feet
Records of the Chicago and Detroit Field Offices. The records relate to field office administration and operations. They are correspondence and reports.

Finding Aids
Box contents list.

Record Group 145
Records of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service

Administrative History
The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) had its beginnings in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) established in the Department of Agriculture under the Adjustment Act of May 12, 1933. After numerous changes by statute and reorganizations by the Department of Agriculture, the ASCS was established on June 5, 1961.

The ASCS is the agency that administers commodity and related land use programs designed for voluntary production adjustment, resource protection, and price, market, and farm income stabilization.

Records Description
Dates: 1976-1977
Volume: 2 cubic feet

Record Group 146
Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission

Administrative History
The U.S. Civil Service Commission was authorized to establish a merit system under which selections for Government service appointments would be based on the demonstrated relative fitness of applicants. On January 1, 1979, many of the functions of the Commission were taken over by the Office of Personnel Management.

Records Description
Dates: 1883-1969
Volume: 9 cubic feet
Records of the Chicago regional office. The records document unemployment and related programs for minorities; administration, policy, and operations; and visits to public high schools to promote civil service opportunities. Included are circulars, correspondence, directives, news releases, notices, reports, and statistical studies.

Records of the Board of Civil Service Examiners for the following offices:

• Duluth, Minnesota, Eighth Region, 1893-1927
• Indianapolis, Sixth Region, 1883-1910
• Janesville, Wisconsin, Seventh Region, 1893-1927
• Port Huron, Michigan, Seventh Region, 1893-1897

The records document examinations and activities related to them. Included are correspondence, examination results, and minutes.

See also The Modern Civil Rights Movement: Federal Records in NARA's Great Lakes Region

Record Group 154
Records of the War Finance Corporation

Administrative History
The War Finance Corporation was created by an act of April 5, 1918, to give financial support to industries essential to the war effort and to banking institutions that aided such industries. After the armistice, the Corporation assisted in the transition to peacetime by financing railroads under Government control, and by making loans to American exporters and agricultural cooperative marketing associations. The Corporation established agricultural loan agencies in farming areas to facilitate handling its agricultural loans, and cooperated with several livestock loan companies. It was abolished on July 1, 1939.

Records Description
Dates: 1921-1929
Volume: 23 cubic feet
Records of the Agricultural Loan Association, Minneapolis. The records relate to administration, banking, loan and real estate in Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. They are ledger books.

Finding Aid
Draft preliminary inventory.

Record Group 155
Records of the Wage and Hour Division

Administrative History
The Public Contracts Division was created to administer the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act of June 30, 1936, which required Government supply contracts exceeding $10,000 to stipulate minimum wage, overtime pay, safety, and health standards. The Wage and Hour Division was established in the Department of Labor to administer the minimum wage, overtime compensation, equal pay, and child labor standards provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of June 25, 1938. The two divisions were consolidated in 1942, and their area of responsibility was expanded by subsequent legislation.

Records Description
Dates: 1939-1945
Volume: 137 cubic feet
Records of the Region 5 (Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio) office, Cleveland, and the Region 6 (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) office, Chicago. The records relate to the enforcement of Federal wage and hour regulations, including investigative interviews with claimants and selected civil action cases heard in U.S. District Courts. Included are correspondence, exhibits such as payroll and accounting records, memorandums, reports, and transcripts.

Finding Aid
Entry 2 in Herbert J. Horwitz, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Divisions, NC 77 (1964).

See also The Modern Civil Rights Movement: Federal Records in NARA's Great Lakes Region

Record Group 156
Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance

Administrative History
The Ordnance Department was established as an independent bureau of the War Department by an act of May 14, 1812. It was responsible for the procurement and distribution of ordnance and equipment, the maintenance and repair of equipment, and the development and testing of new types of ordnance. The Department was abolished in 1962, and its functions were transferred to the U.S. Army Materiel Command.

Among the field establishments maintained by the Ordnance Department within the United States have been armories, arsenals, ordnance depots, district offices, and plants.

Records Description
Dates: 1863-1963
Volume: 268 cubic feet

• Records of the following offices:
• Badger Ordnance Works, Wisconsin, 1949-1950
• Buckeye Ordnance Works, Ohio, 1943-1945
• Casad Ordnance Works, Indiana, 1943-1945
• Chicago Ordnance District, 1940-1951
• Cincinnati Ordnance District, 1919-1946
• Cleveland Ordnance District, 1918-1954
• Columbus General Depot, Ohio, 1950-1954
• Detroit Ordnance District, 1918-1950
• Erie Ordnance Depot, Ohio, 1918-1962
• Erie Proving Grounds, Ohio, 1918-1919
• Fort Wayne Ordnance Depot, Indiana, 1941-1946
• Illinois Ordnance Plant, Carbondale, 1941-1950
• Indiana Arsenal, Jeffersonville, 1951-1952
• Jeffersonville Depot, Indiana, 1903-1904
• Joliet Arsenal, Illinois, 1946-1950
• Kankakee Ordnance Works, Illinois, 1941-1945
• Lima Ordnance Depot, Ohio, 1945-1954
• Lincoln Ordnance Depot, Illinois, 1942-1949
• Lordstown Ordnance Depot, Ohio, 1941-1956;
• Louisville Depot, Kentucky, 1878-1879;
• Palmer Woods Ordnance Depot, Michigan, 1945-1946;
• Plum Brook Ordnance Works, Ohio, 1943-1945;
• Ravenna Arsenal, Ohio, 1945-1950;
• Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, 1863-1950
• Rossford Ordnance Depot, Ohio, 1943-1963
• Sangamon Ordnance Plant, Illinois, 1942-1950
• Savanna Ordnance Depot, Illinois, 1918-1963
• Savanna Proving Grounds, Illinois, 1918-1928
• Terre Haute Ordnance Depot, Indiana, 1940-1955
• Twin Cities Arsenal, Minnesota, 1948-1951
• Twin Cities Ordnance Plant, Minnesota, 1941-1951
• Wabash River Ordnance Works, Indiana, 1942-1950

The records document the administration and operation of all facilities and the activation and deactivation of some. The records include circulars, correspondence, manuals, memorandums, orders, planning files, regulations, and reports. Nontextual records include architectural drawings and maps. See RG 77, RG 103, RG 270 and RG 291 for related records.

Finding Aids
Entries 1291 through 1299, 1332 through 1334, 1336 through 1339, 1671 through 1673, 1678, 1679, 1681, 1682, 1686, 1687, and 1691 in Garry D. Ryan and Evelyn Wade, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance. Part II: Records of Ordnance Field Installations, NM 26 (1965).

Entries 1335, 1337, 1340 through 1342, 1513, 1514, 1540 through 1543, 1561 through 1563, 1601, 1602, and 1625 through 1630 in Evelyn Wade and Garry D. Ryan, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the textual records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance. Part II: Records of Ordnance Field Installations, NM 59 (1965).

For Cleveland Ordnance District, Columbus General Depot, Detroit Ordnance District, Erie Ordnance Depot, Illinois Ordnance Plant, Indiana Arsenal, Joliet Arsenal, Kankakee Ordnance Works, Lima Ordnance Depot, Lordstown Ordnance Depot, Rossford Ordnance Depot, Savanna Ordnance Depot, Twin Cities Arsenal and Ordnance Works, Wabash River Ordnance Works: box contents lists for some boxes.

See also The Modern Civil Rights Movement: Federal Records in NARA's Great Lakes Region

Record Group 158
Records of the Capital Issues Committee

Administrative History
A Capital Issues Committee was created within the Federal Reserve Board in January 1918; in May it was replaced by a new Capital Issues Committee, an independent agency under authority of the War Finance Corporation Act of April 5, 1918. The two committees were created to determine whether proposed issues of securities were in the national interest, and to discourage the diversion of capital to unessential projects. The Committee suspended its activities at the end of 1918, and a Presidential proclamation of August 30, 1919, directed it to terminate its affairs.

Much of the work of the Committee was handled by the subcommittees (or district committees) that were established in each Federal Reserve district.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1919
Volume: 24 cubic feet
Records of the Field Office, Chicago. The records relate to administration, public relations and applications by organizations proposing capital issues, and the recommendations of the committees in each case. They include applications, bulletins, correspondence, income statements, minutes, and press releases. Nontextual records include a broadside.

Finding Aid
Entries 20 through 30 in William F. Sherman and Norwood N. Biggs, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Capital Issues Commission, NC 85 (1964).

Record Group 165
Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs

Administrative History
A War Department General Staff was authorized by Congress on February 14, 1903, to include a Chief of Staff, a General Council, and three divisions, which, after frequent reorganizations, developed into the Personnel Division (G-1), the Military Intelligence Division (G-2), the Organization and Training Division (G-3), the Supply Division (G-4), and the War Plans Division (Operations Division after 1942). The General Staff was a separate and distinct staff organization with supervision over most military branches - both line and staff. Its duties were to prepare plans for national defense and mobilization of military forces in time of war, to investigate and report on questions affecting Army efficiency and preparedness, and to give professional aid to the Secretary of War, general officers, and other superior commanders.

Under provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 the War Department became the Department of the Army within the newly created National Military Establishment, which was renamed the Department of Defense in 1949.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1919
Volume: 9 cubic feet
Records of the Chicago and Cincinnati District Offices, Military Intelligence Division, Plant Protection Section. The records relate to investigations of suspicious individuals, suspected sabotage, and general manufacturing plant reports.

Finding Aids
Card register of names and subjects in the correspondence.

Folder title lists.

Entries 128, 131, and 132 in Olive K. Liebman and Harry W. John, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Textual Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, NM 84 (1967).

Related Microfilm Publications
M1440, Correspondence of the Military Intelligence Division Relating to "Negro Subversion," 1917-1941.

Record Group 175
Records of the Chemical Warfare Service

Administrative History
The Chemical Warfare Service, a technical service under the General Staff, was established as part of the National Army on June 28, 1918, to develop, produce, and test materials and apparatus for gas warfare and to organize and train military personnel in methods of defense against gas. As part of a War Department reorganization, effective March 9, 1942, it became part of the Services of Supply, later designated Army Service Forces. In 1946, it was again placed under the General Staff, and on September 6, 1946, its name was changed to the Chemical Corps which was abolished on August 1, 1962.

Records Description
Dates: 1940-1948
Volume: 2 cubic feet
Records of the following operations:

• Chicago Chemical Procurement District, Illinois, ca. 1940-1945
• Midland Chemical Plant, Midland, Michigan, ca. 1944
• Vigo Chemical Plant, Vigo, Indiana, ca. 1945-1948

The records relate to administration, chemical production, personnel, and the history of the Midland Chemical Plant. Included are charts, correspondence, general orders, manuals, memorandums, and minutes. Nontextual records include architectural drawings and photographs.

Record Group 180
Records of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Administrative History
The Commodity Exchange Administration was established in the Department of Agriculture by a Secretary's memorandum, effective July 1, 1936, under the Commodities Exchange Act of June 15, 1936. It succeeded the Grain Futures Administration, created to enforce the Grain Futures Act of 1922, but its jurisdiction was extended to cover dealings in additional commodities. By an Executive order of February 23, 1942, the Commodity Exchange Administration was merged with other agencies to form the Agricultural Marketing Administration. On February 1, 1947, the Commodity Exchange Authority was established as an agency of the Department of Agriculture. In 1974, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission succeeded the Commodity Exchange Authority with broad new regulatory powers.

The major functions of the CEA were to maintain fair and competitive pricing, and otherwise regulate agricultural commodity markets under the Commodities Exchange Act. CEA regional offices carried out the overall mission of the Authority within the markets assigned to them by the CEA administrator. Each regional office was also assigned audit territories comprised of several States.

Records Description
Dates: 1972, 1977, 1983-1984
Volume: 138 cubic feet

Record Group 181
Records of the Naval Districts and Shore Establishments

Administrative History
Soon after its establishment in 1798, the Department of the Navy created navy yards and other fleet service shore establishments. A system of naval districts for the United States, its territories, and possessions was not formally established, however, until 1903. This system was supervised by the Bureau of Navigation until 1915, when it became the responsibility of the Chief of Naval Operations. By the end of World War II, the districts exercised almost complete military and administrative control over naval operations within their limits, including naval shipyards, stations, training stations, air installations, and advance bases.

Records Description
Dates: 1873-1962
Volume: 1,358 cubic feet
Records of the following:

• Glenview Naval Air Station and Naval Air Reserve Training Command, Glenview, Illinois, 1926-69
• Industrial Manager, Chicago, 1943-1952
• Mound City Naval Station, Illinois, 1873
• Naval Research Unit, Great Lakes, 1949-1962
• Office of the Commandant, Great Lakes Naval Training Station, 1914-1947
• Office of the Commandant, 9th Naval District, 1913-1953
• Rock Island Naval Reserve Division, Illinois, 1924-1943

The records document administration and general operations. The records are primarily correspondence, arranged according to the subject classification scheme of the Navy Filing Manual. Nontextual records include a few photographs.

Finding Aids
For Office of the Commandant, 9th Naval District, central subject files, 1942-1948: partial folder title list.

Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments in the Regional Archives Part of Record Group 181, SL 58 (1991).

Related Microfilm Publications
M1617, Logbooks of U.S. Navy Ships (Nominal), 1801-1947 (Logbook of USS Sable, 1943-45, and Logbook of USS Wolverine, 1942-45 only).

Record Group 184
Records of the Railroad Retirement Board

Administrative History
The Railroad Retirement Board was established by the Railroad Retirement Act of August 29, 1935, and also derives authority from the Railroad Unemployment Act of 1938. The Board administers the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts and participates in the administration of the Social Security Act, Health Insurance for the Aged Act, and other social insurance acts as they affect Railroad Retirement Act beneficiaries.

The Board is composed of three members who are appointed by the President with the advice of the Senate: one upon recommendation of representatives of employees; one upon recommendation of carriers; and one, the chairman, as a public member. The Board's headquarters in Chicago maintains field offices in heavily populated centers of railroad activity.

Records Description
Dates: 1934-1989
Volume: 199 cubic feet
Records of the central office. The records document administration, audits, claims and claims processing, inspections, and operations and include drafts of board publications, such as the administrative manual (formal instructions on procedural matters) and the field operating manual (a handbook used by field representatives). Included are correspondence, memorandums, narrative and statistical reports, and publications.

Finding Aids
For administrative files, 1934-1937, and miscellaneous data on pension plans, 1937-1940: box contents lists.

Record Group 187
Records of the National Resources Planning Board

Administrative History
The National Resources Planning Board (NRPB) was established in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1939. It inherited the functions of the National Planning Board (NPB) of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (created July 20, 1933) and its various successors. The NRPB and its predecessors planned public works, coordinated Federal planning relating to conservation and efficient use of national resources, and encouraged local, State, and regional planning. The NRPB was abolished by an act of June 26, 1943. In 1934, the NPB began using the regional advisors and State advisory boards of the Public Works Administration for field contacts with State and local governments. On March 1, 1934, the NPB began developing a field organization of its own, establishing 12 planning districts throughout the country. The number of districts was subsequently reduced to 11. On May 13, 1937, the 11 planning district offices became nine regional offices. (Two additional regions were subsequently added for Alaska and the Caribbean territories.) The NRPB was liquidated in 1943.

The regional offices primarily acted as clearinghouses of planning information, carried out the Board's activities in the field, and coordinated regional, State, and local natural resource planning activities.

Records Description
Dates: 1934-1943
Volume: 39 cubic feet
Records of Region 4 (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) with field offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. The records document administration, municipal facilities planning, and activities of regional resource planning committees pertaining to land use, water pollution, and inland waterways. Included are records relating to the Northern Lakes States Regional Planning Committee and the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Compact Commission. The records are correspondence, minutes, newspaper clippings, reports, and studies. Nontextual records include maps.

Finding Aids
Entries 27 through 29 in Virgil E. Baugh, comp., Records of the Regional Offices of the National Resources Planning Board, PI 64 (1954).

Record Group 188
Records of the Office of Price Administration

Administrative History
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) originated in the Price Stabilization and Consumer Protection Divisions of the Advisory Commission to the Council of National Defense on May 29, 1940, and in their successor, the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply, created in April 1941 and redesignated the Office of Price Administration by an Executive order of August 28, 1941. The OPA was given statutory recognition as an independent agency by the Emergency Price Control Act of January 30, 1942. Under this legislation the OPA attempted to stabilize prices and rents by establishing maximum prices for commodities (other than agricultural products which were under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture) and rents in defense areas. It also rationed scarce essential commodities and authorized subsidies for the production of some goods. Most of the price and rationing controls were lifted between August 1945 and November 1946.

Records Description
Dates: 1941-1947
Volume: 522 cubic feet
Records of Region 3 (Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia with the headquarters in Cleveland) and Region 6 (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin with the headquarters in Chicago.) The records document administrative operations and the development and implementation of rationing programs and price regulation. Included are bulletins, correspondence, memorandums, minutes, newspaper clippings, questionnaires, reports, and studies.

Finding Aids
Entries 207 through 225, 276 through 314, and 351 in Meyer H. Fishbein, Martha Chandler, Walter W. Weinstein, and Albert W. Winthrop, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Rationing Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 102 (1958).

Entries 223 through 230, and 247 through 271 in Meyer H. Fishbein and Betty R. Bucher, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Enforcement Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 120 (1959).

Entries 1065 through 1088, 1226 through 1274, and 1349 and 1350 in Walter W. Weinstein, Albert W. Winthrop and Meyer H. Fishbein, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Price Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 95 (1956).

Entries 351, 357, 359, 361, 362, 364, 367, 370 through 373, 375, 379, 381, 385, and 458 through 490 in Walter W. Weinstein, Albert W. Winthrop and Meyer H. Fishbein, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Price Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 95 (1956).

Entries 178 through 195 in Betty R. Bucher, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Information Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 119 (1959).