The National Archives at Fort Worth

Record Groups 50 - 99

Record Group 57
Records of the U.S. Geological Survey

Administrative History
The Geological Survey was established in the Department of the Interior by an act of March 3, 1879, providing for the "classification of the public lands and the examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the public domain." An act of September 5, 1962, expanded this authorization to examinations outside the public domain, while topographical mapping and chemical and physical research were authorized by an act of October 2, 1888. The Survey's chief functions are to survey, investigate, and conduct research on the Nation's topography, geology, and mineral and water resources; classify land according to mineral composition and water power resources; furnish engineering supervision for power permits and Federal Power Commission licenses; supervise naval petroleum reserves and mineral leasing operations on public and Indian lands; and disseminate data relating to these activities.

Records Description
Dates: 1889-1966
Volume: 69 cubic feet
Records of the "Segregated Choctaw-Chickasaw Lands," 1889-1944. The records relate to mining operations. There are case files containing accident reports, correspondence, copies of leases, inspection reports, newspaper clippings, and statistics on production. Nontextual records include plat maps of mine locations and photographs.

Records of the oil and gas supervisor at New Orleans. The records relate to leases of tideland areas and agreements between the State Minerals Board of Louisiana and various companies, 1956- 1957. There are originals and copies of agreements.

Records of Connally Act Compliance of the Conservation Division of the Geological Survey, 1933-1966. The records document the Federal Government's efforts to halt the overproduction of oil ("hot oil") in east Texas. Included are correspondence, reports, and statistical data. Nontextual records include maps.

Records of headquarters, Federal Tender Board Number 1 (renamed the Federal Petroleum Board), Kilgore, Texas. The records document the oil industry in Texas and relations between the Federal Government and the Texas Railroad Commission. There are central subject files, investigative case files, and narrative and statistical reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 58
Records of the Internal Revenue Service

Administrative History
The Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue was established in the Treasury Department by an act of July 1, 1862, to help finance the Civil War. Within the Office the agency that collected funds was known as the Bureau of Internal Revenue until 1953 when it was designated the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The taxes levied during the Civil War were gradually abolished until only taxes on liquor and tobacco remained in 1883. In addition to the taxes on these commodities, the Bureau began collecting a corporation income tax after 1909. With the adoption of the 16th amendment in 1913, the collection of income taxes became one of the Bureau's principal functions. It is now responsible for the administration, assessment, and collection of all internal revenue taxes.

Records Description
Dates: 1866-1917
Volume: 78 cubic feet
Records of IRS collectors in:

Arkansas, 1867-1874, 1910-1917;
Louisiana, 1867-1873, 1910-1917;
Oklahoma, 1912-1917;
Texas, 1866- 1874, 1878, 1908-1917.

The records contain the name of taxpayer (individuals and corporations), city of residence, article or occupation taxed, and amount assessed and collected. The records are assessment lists.

Records of IRS collectors in Texas also include information about applications for licenses to practice occupations, 1866- 1867, and the assessment and shipment of cotton, 1866-1868.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 70
Records of the Bureau of Mines

Administrative History
The Bureau of Mines was established in the Department of the Interior by an act of May 16, 1910. In 1925 the Division of Mineral resources of the Geological Survey and the Coal Division of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce were transferred to the Bureau of Mines, which became part of the Department of Commerce. The Bureau was returned to the Department of the Interior in 1934. Its functions include inspecting mines, smelters and mills; testing fuels for Government use; issuing licenses that control production and use of nonmilitary explosives; collecting information regarding production and consumption of mineral resources, and employment and accidents in mines; conducting research on mining methods, production of minerals, and improvement of mining conditions; and operating experimental plants.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1965
Volume: 88 cubic feet
Records of the Petroleum Experiment Station (est. 1918), renamed the Bartlesville Petroleum Research Center, ca. 1958. The center had six main research groups based in Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas. The records relate to air and water pollution, auto exhaust, gasoline and motor fuel, mineral resources on the Moon, petroleum production, thermodynamics, and uranium. Included are correspondence, minutes of meetings and conferences, narrative and statistical reports, press releases, publications, technical studies, and test data. Nontextual records include photographs.

Records of the clinic at Pitcher, Oklahoma, 1927-1932, relating to treatment of miners for tuberculosis and silicosis and other medical research.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 75
Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Administrative History
An Office of Indian Affairs was established in 1824 within the War Department, which had exercised jurisdiction over relations with Indian tribes since the formation of the Federal Government. The Office operated informally within the War Department until Congress authorized the appointment of a Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1832. The Office was transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1849. Although commonly called the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it was not officially designated that until 1947.

The Bureau is responsible for most of the Federal Government's relations with the tribes of Indians that it recognizes. Some groups of Indians, particularly in the Eastern States, have never received official recognition, and other groups ceased to function as cohesive tribes before the establishment of the Federal Government in 1789. The Bureau has only exercised responsibility for Indians living on a recognized reservation or who maintained an affiliation with a recognized tribe. Many persons of Indian descent are not mentioned in any of the Bureau's records because they severed all connection with any tribe.

The Bureau's programs have had an impact on virtually every phase of tribal development and individual Indian life including education, health, land ownership, financial affairs, employment, and legal rights. In 1931 the Bureau assumed jurisdiction over the Indians and Eskimos of Alaska from the Alaska Division of the Office of Education, which had been established in 1885 to administer education and health programs for the natives of Alaska. In 1955 most of the Bureau's health activities, including the operation of Indian Hospitals, were transferred to the Public Health Service.

When it was created in 1824, the Bureau inherited a well- established system of agencies, each of which was responsible for all relations with one or more tribes. Many of these agencies were subordinate to a superintendency which had general responsibility for Indian affairs in a territory or other geographical area.

Although there were numerous changes in agency designations and jurisdictions, this basic organizational structure remained unchanged until superintendencies were abolished in the 1870's and all agents began reporting directly to the Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC. In 1947 area offices were established to exercise supervisory control over agencies and other administrative units (such as schools or irrigation districts) within specific geographic regions. In addition to the agents who were responsible for the day-to-day implementation of Indian policy, the Bureau often sent officials into the field for special purposes. These included treaty commissioners, inspectors, purchasing and disbursing agents, enrolling and allotting agents, and education specialists. Many of the schools that operated on Indian reservations were under the control of a superintendent who was often independent of the agent and sometimes exercised the functions of an agent. There were also a number of nonreservation schools, such as the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma, which accepted students from all over the country and were not under the control of any local agent.

Records Description
Dates: 1870-1987
Volume: 15,721 cubic feet
Records of the following area offices, agencies, and schools:

Anadarko Area Office/Kiowa Agency, 1881-1962. The area office (est. 1950) supervised the Concho, Horton, Pawnee, and Shawnee Agencies; the Chilocco Indian School; and the Haskell Indian Junior College. The Kiowa Agency supervised the Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa, and some Caddo, Delaware, Hainai (Ioni), Iowa, Kaw, Kichai (Keechi), Tawakoni, Waco, and Wichita.
Cheyenne and Arapaho (Concho) Agency, 1891-1952. The agency supervised the Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne, and the Cantonment, Concho, Red Moon, and Seger Indian Schools.
Chilocco Indian School, 1884-1960. Miami Agency, 1871-1952. The agency supervised the Cayuga, Eastern Shawnee, Miami, Modoc, Nez Perce, Ottawa, Peoria, Quapaw, Seneca, Wyandot, and the Confederated Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, and Wea.
Muskogee Area Office/Five Civilized Tribes Agency, 1899-1960. The area office (est. 1949) supervised the Five Civilized Tribes, Miami, and Osage Agencies. The agency supervised the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes; some Adopted Delawares and Shawnees; the Carter, Eufaula, and Sequoyah Boarding Schools; and the Armstrong, Jones, Mekasukey, and Wheelock Academies.
Osage Agency, 1870-1961. The agency supervised the Kaw and Osage, and the Osage Boarding School.
Pawnee Agency, 1871-1964. The agency supervised the Kaw, Missouri, Otoe, Pawnee, Ponca, and Tonkawa, and the Pawnee Boarding School.
Shawnee Agency, 1890-1952. The agency supervised the Absentee Shawnee, Citizen Potawatomi, Iowa, Kickapoo, and the Sac and Fox.

Records submitted by the agent and other field employees document tribal economic, political, and social life; the daily relations between the BIA and the Indians, an agent and his superiors, and officials of other Federal and local government agencies; and the agent's perceptions about the Indians and his duties. Osage Agency records document oil production on the reservation. Included are annual narrative and statistical reports and correspondence.

The records document Indians' financial affairs such as annuity payments and disbursements of other funds to tribal members as a result of treaties or congressional legislation. They contain the Indian's name and the amount of money or type of goods received. With tribal censuses and other enrollment records, they document genealogy and tribal demographics. Included are cash reports, ledgers of receipts and disbursements, property returns, and vouchers.

The records document the financial affairs of restricted Indians considered incompetent because of their age, degree of Indian blood, or other factors. They concern the collection and disbursement of funds; requests by Indians for money to buy automobiles, clothing, farming equipment, furniture, groceries, livestock, pianos, and many other items; and the determination of heirs and distribution of the estates. Included are probate files, application forms, and related correspondence.

The records document land allotment to individual tribal members, names of eligible tribe members, contested allotments, the dispersal of the tribal domain, protests against the allotment process, sale or leasing of land, and use of tribal resources. Included are lists of eligible members, applications for specific tracts of land, plat maps, hearings, and letters (many in the native language) from Indians to their agents.

Records document the work of the Dawes Commission to allot land to eligible members of the Five Civilized Tribes. Included are original applications for enrollment, 1898-1907 (filed under Muskogee Area Office).

Records document the operation of schools on reservations, and nonreservation and public schools that Indians attended; school enrollments; and planning and implementation of educational programs. Included are correspondence, narrative and statistical reports, and individual student files that contain applications for admission, correspondence, and grades.

The records document the Chilocco Indian School, the second oldest nonreservation boarding school in the United States, which accepted students from more than 40 tribes. The school was closed in 1980. Included are student case files, publications such as the school annual, and glass plate negatives of campus scenes.

There are records of or about the Chilocco Indian School and Haskell Indian Junior College (filed under Anadarko Area Office); the Cantonment, Concho, Red Moon, and Seger Indian Schools (filed under Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency); Carter, Eufaula, and Sequoyah Boarding Schools and the Armstrong, Jones, Mekasukey, and Wheelock Academies (filed under Muskogee Area Office); and the Osage Boarding School (filed under Osage Agency).

The records document the impact of changing social and economic conditions as reflected in activities of the Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division and other emergency relief programs conducted in the 1930's; agricultural extension projects; health care programs; construction of homes and roads; home demonstration programs; housing; income; irrigation and land management activities; liquor control, suppression of peyote, and other law enforcement activities on reservations; living conditions; and recreation. Included are project files and reports.

The records document tribal governments and provide insight into tribal politics and Indian reaction to various Federal programs and policies. Included are agendas, minutes, and resolutions of tribal business committees or other elected groups.

Nontextual records include photographs of campus scenes at the Chilocco Indian School and plat maps showing the location of allotted land and railroads.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory.
Edward E. Hill, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, PI 163 (2 vols., 1965).
Edward E. Hill, comp., Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians, Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Service, 1981.

Related Microfilm Publications
M21, Letters Sent by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1881;
M234, Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824- 1881;
M595, Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940;
M1011, Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports from Field Jurisdictions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1907-1938;
M1070, Reports of Inspections of the Field Jurisdictions of the Office of Indian Affairs, 1873-1900;
M1650, Applications from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Muskogee Area Office Relating to Enrollment in the Five Civilized Tribes Under the Act of 1896.

Restrictions
Access to case files on individual Indians is restricted because of personal privacy concerns.

Record Group 76
Records of Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitrations

Administrative History
The United States and Mexico concluded a convention on July 29, 1882, which provided for an international boundary commission to conduct a "preliminary reconnaissance of the frontier line" and erect markers. A convention signed on March 1, 1889, authorized the commission to study problems with the water boundary caused by changes in the course of the Rio Grande and Colorado Rivers. In 1944, the commission was designated the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). With headquarters in El Paso, the U.S. Section of the IBWC is responsible for cooperative programs with Mexico to mark and maintain the land and water boundaries, settle boundary disputes, regulate the distribution of water, and promote flood control, conservation, sanitation, hydroelectric power, and improvement of water quality.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1968
Volume: 144 cubic feet
Records of the U.S. Section-International Boundary and Water Commission-United States and Mexico. The records document flood control, irrigation, and hydroelectric power projects. Included are bulletins, correspondence, design and construction files, narrative reports, press clippings, and publications. Nontextual records include aerial photomosaics, maps, and selected documents in design and construction files.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory and list of folder titles.
Daniel T. Goggin, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records Relating to International Boundaries, PI 170 (1968).

Related Microfilm Publications
M54, Notes From the Mexican Legation in the United States to the Department of State, 1821-1906; Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State, 1801-1906;
M77, Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State, 1801-1906;
M97, Despatches From United States Ministers to Mexico, 1823-1906;
M99, Notes to Foreign Legations in the United States from the Department of State, 1834- 1906
M314, Records of the Department of State Relating to Political Relations Between the United States and Mexico, 1910- 1929.

Record Group 77
Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers

Administrative History
The Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, with headquarters at Washington, DC, was a result of orders of April 3, 1818. The military responsibilities of the Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE) have included producing and distributing Army maps, building roads, planning camps, and constructing and repairing fortifications and other installations.

Its civil duties have included maintaining and improving inland waterways and harbors, formulating and executing plans for flood control, operating dams and locks, and approving plans for construction of bridges, wharves, piers, and other works over navigable waters. Expansion of the OCE's river and harbor improvement work after the Civil War necessitated the establishment of district offices throughout the United States. The engineer officer in charge of each district reported directly to the Chief of Engineers until 1888 when engineer divisions were created with administrative jurisdiction over the district offices.

Records Description
Dates: 1862-1973
Volume: 3,667 cubic feet
Records of the southwestern division, 1931-1963, and the following districts:

Albuquerque, 1935-1969;
Fort Worth, 1934-1970;
Galveston, 1897-1964;
Little Rock, 1907-1970;
New Orleans, 1862- 1943;
Tulsa, 1859-1973.

Records document military and civilian responsibilities of the OCE, such as maintaining and improving inland waterways and harbors, flood control, and operation of locks and dams, and provide geological, hydrological, and economic data about construction projects and their impact on the surrounding area. There are administrative records, engineering studies, field survey notebooks, structural permit files, and topographical and hydrological data files. Construction project files contain engineering drawings, notes, plans, progress reports, and test results. Nontextual records include photographs and engineering drawings.

Records of the New Orleans district concern:

fortifications for the defense of New Orleans, Louisiana (1864)
Fort Jefferson, Florida (1890, reports)
Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip, Louisiana (1870-1900, plans and correspondence)
South Pass and the mouth of the Mississippi River (1870-1900, surveys)

Nontextual records of the Fort Worth, New Orleans, and Tulsa districts include photographs.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory of the records of each office.

Related Microfilm Publications
M66, Letters Sent by the Topographical Bureau of the War Department and by Successor Divisions in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, 1829-1870.

Record Group 79
Records of the National Park Service

Administrative History
The National Park Service was established in the Department of the Interior by an act of August 25, 1916. It supervises national parks, monuments, historic parks, memorials, parkways, recreation areas, and seashores and is responsible for the promotion and regulation of their use. It establishes and enforces regulations for use, protects parks from fire, regulates concession operators, investigates and recommends proposed new areas, acquires land, and constructs and maintains roads, trails, and buildings. It also engages in research and educational work such as managing guided tours and lectures, marking nature trails, maintaining museums and libraries, and preparing publications and studies in history, archeology, natural history, and wildlife.

Records Description
Dates: 1903-1972
Volume: 57 cubic feet
Records of the following:

Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas, 1965-1972;
Big Bend National Park, Texas, 1943-1965;
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, 1954-1969;
Gran Quivira National Monument, New Mexico, 1942-1970;
Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, 1948-1966;
Platt National Park, Oklahoma, 1903-1969.

The records document park administration and operations, and include correspondence, narrative and statistical reports, and newspaper clippings. Nontextual records include maps.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory.
Edward E. Hill, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the National Park Service, PI 166 (1966).

Record Group 83
Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics

Administrative History
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics was established in the Department of Agriculture on July 1, 1922. Until 1939 it conducted studies and disseminated information relating to agricultural production, crop estimates, marketing, finance, labor, and other agricultural problems, and administered several regulatory statutes. In 1939, marketing functions were transferred to the Agricultural Marketing Service and most land-utilization work was transferred to the Soil Conservation Service. In 1953, it was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Agricultural Research Service and the Agricultural Marketing Service.

Records Description
Dates: 1936-1938
Volume: 2 cubic feet
Records of the Land Utilization Office at Amarillo, Texas. The records relate to land classification, public finance, and water utilization and are primarily correspondence.

Finding Aids
Entries 264 and 265 in Vivian Wiser, comp. Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, PI 104 (1958).

Record Group 85
Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

Administrative History
The Office of Superintendent of Immigration was established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of March 3, 1891, and was designated a bureau in 1895 with responsibility for administering the alien contract-labor laws. In 1903 it became part of the Department of Commerce and Labor and in 1906 was designated the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization with the addition of functions relating to naturalization. In 1913 it was transferred to the Department of Labor as two separate Bureaus of Immigration and of Naturalization, which were reunited by Executive order on June 10, 1933, to form the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS, which became part of the Department of Justice in 1940, administers laws relating to admission, exclusion, deportation, and naturalization of aliens; patrols U.S. borders; and supervises naturalization work in designated Federal courts.

Records Description
Dates: 1831-1953
Volume: 43 cubic feet
Records created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to index Federal, State, and local courts. The records document naturalizations issued in Louisiana and Texas. There is a card index to certificates of naturalization (1831-1906, Louisiana), and a bound index to naturalizations (1853-1939, Texas.) Some records cited in the index may still be in the custody of the courts. See RG 21 for related records.

Record Group 90
Records of the Public Health Service, 1912-1968

Administrative History
The Public Health Service, originally called the Marine Hospital Service, has its origins in an act of July 16, 1798, which authorized hospitals for the care of sick and disabled American merchant seamen. The scope of its activities was greatly expanded by subsequent legislation, and it became part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1955 after having been part of the Department of the Treasury from 1798 to 1939 and the Federal Security Agency from 1939 to 1953.

The Public Health Service operates marine hospitals, hospitals for specific diseases, medical facilities for Federal penal institutions, quarantine and health stations, and research institutions and laboratories. It conducts research in the cause, prevention, and control of disease and disseminates health information.

Records Description
Dates: 1871-1972
Volume: 5 cubic feet
Records of the Fort Worth Clinical Research Center, 1931-1972, relating to the facilities at the center and the treatment of persons addicted to narcotics. The records include correspondence and narrative and statistical reports. Nontextual records include maps and photographs.

Records of the U.S. Marine Hospital, Mobile, Alabama, 1871-1919. The records relate to property and facilities and include correspondence and patient registers.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 92
Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General

Administrative History
In 1818 Congress created a Quartermaster's Department under a single Quartermaster General to ensure an efficient system of supply and accountability of Army officers charged with monies or supplies. At various times, the Quartermaster has been responsible for procurement and distribution of supplies, pay, transportation, and construction. After a number of changes in functions and command relationships, Congress authorized a Quartermaster Corps in 1912 and designated its chief the Quartermaster General in 1914. The Corps was responsible for the operation of a number of general supply depots and subdepots throughout the United States. The Office of the Quartermaster General was abolished in 1962.

Records Description
Dates: 1885-1966
Volume: 138 cubic feet
Records of the following:

General Distribution Depot, San Antonio, Texas, 1919-1955;
National Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, 1885- 1931;
Normoyle Quartermaster Depot, San Antonio, Texas, 1921-1938;
Quartermaster Depot, Fort Reno, Oklahoma, 1920-1954;
Quartermaster Depot, Fort Worth, Texas, 1940-1966;
Quartermaster Depot, Galveston, Texas, 1913-1915.

The records relate to administrative functions and include correspondence and orders.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Record Group 95
Records of the Forest Service

Administrative History
In 1881 a Division of Forestry was established in the Department of Agriculture. It became the Forest Service in 1905 when it assumed responsibility for the administration of forest reserves from the Department of the Interior. From 1933 to 1942, the Service supervised a large part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) work program.

The Service is responsible for promoting the conservation and best use of national forests and grasslands through development of the National Forest System, cooperating with administrators of State and private forests, and conducting forest and range research programs.

Records Description
Dates: 1962-1979
Volume: 7 cubic feet
The records relate primarily to the use of aircraft for firefighting and transportation of tourists into the Grand Canyon. Included are correspondence, minutes of meetings of advisory committees, management issuances and directives, narrative and statistical reports, and printed circulars and bulletins.

Finding Aids

Draft inventory.
Harold T. Pinkett and Terry W. Good, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Forest Service, PI 18 (1969).

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