Frequently Requested Archival Holdings
This is a list of the frequently requested archival holdings maintained in the Archives Division of the National Archives at Denver.
U.S. Food Administration:
In the records of the U.S. Food Administration, for
example, a researcher can examine the effects of food
rationing on communities in Colorado, Montana, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming during WWI.
Included are letters from private citizens reporting their
neighbors for violating the "Meatless Monday" edicts or
for hoarding sugar. To get a real flavor of the times,
try one of the "meatless, wheatless, sweetless" recipes
prepared by the Food Administration.
U.S. District Courts:
Our records of the U.S. District Courts include
bankruptcy, civil, and criminal case files and related
dockets from most of the states in our region from
approximately 1860 to 1960. Early bankruptcy cases may
tell a historian what goods were carried by a bankrupt
drygoods store in a frontier community in New Mexico.
Genealogists may find an ancestor's naturalization
records. Attorneys frequently use these records in
researching precedent cases. Represented in these cases
are stagecoach robbers, madams, polygamists, bootleggers,
homesteaders, ranchers, Indians, railroads barons,
murderers (including Billy the Kid), miners--in fact, the
whole range of characters, notorious and ordinary, who
helped settle the West.
Of related interest are our holdings from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which contain records of cases appealed from U.S. District Courts in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
Bureau of Land Management:
The records of the Bureau of Land Management (formerly the
General Land Office) provide information for a wide range
of researchers. A genealogist may use the land office
tract books, abstract books, and land entry case files to
learn about an ancestor's homestead in Montana; a
historian may use the same type records to study
settlement patterns in South Dakota. Township survey
plats in many cases were the first accurate, detailed maps
of the West and show the terrain as it was perceived over
a century ago. Correspondence of both the land office
officials and the surveyors general illuminate some of the
problems of trying to tame the frontier. Our Bureau of
Land Management records relating to the Civilian
Conservation Corps may be of interest to those who
participated in that early conservation effort.
Bureau of Indian Affairs:
Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs are our holdings
most used by historians. These records document the
federal government's relations with Indians during the
approximate period 1875-1950, ranging from the Blackfeet
in Montana to the Pueblos of New Mexico. These are
records created or received by the Indian agent or other
officials on the reservations. Included are: correspondence and annual reports of the agent to his superiors
in Washington discussing the overall operation of the
agency; reports by the agency head teacher discussing
progress in educating the children in white culture;
reports by the agency farmer concerning his efforts to
turn the Indians into farmers; and reports by the agency
physician concerning the Indians' health. Also included
are records concerning the issuance of annuity goods, land
allotments, supplies, finances, censuses, and much more.
Bureau of Reclamation:
The Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for planning,
building, and operating projects throughout the West to
reclaim arid land through irrigation. The records we hold
include correspondence, project histories, and general
records filed under the agency's decimal classification
system. We also hold over 100,000 photographs that show
the projects during construction and also show the land
before and after irrigation began. These records come
from all the western states rather than just the states
within our region.
Denver Mint:
The Denver Mint was established in 1862 when the federal
government bought the privately owned Clark and Gruber
Mint. During the first few decades of its existence the
Mint's operations were limited to assaying, smelting, and
refining precious metals. The records we hold include
correspondence, assaying records, and records of deposits
of bullion. Included in the correspondence is an
interesting series of reports concerning and 1864 robbery
of the Mint in which an employee absconded with about
$37,000 in bullion and notes.
Internal Revenue Service:
Business historians and genealogists might be interested
in examining records of the Internal Revenue Service. We
hold monthly tax assessment lists from Colorado, New
Mexico, and Wyoming, ca. 1873-1917.
Forest Service:
The Forest Service is responsible for promoting
conservation and the best uses of national forests and
grasslands. We hold land classification records from many
national forests in our region; records concerning Forest
Service Civilian Conservation Corps camps in Colorado; and
"historical files" concerning the histories of many
national forests in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming.
Other:
We also hold about 60,000 rolls of microfilm, most of
which are copies of original records held in the National
Archives in Washington, DC. Please ask one of our staff
members if you want more information about our microfilm.