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Record Groups 103 - 196

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 of banks for cooperatives making loans of all kinds to agricultural and marine cooperatives. The System was created to provide dependable and adequate credit in response to the Great Depression and farm crisis of the 1930's.

Records Description
Dates: 1942-1956
Volume: 41 cubic feet
Records of Federal land banks in

  • Houston (district 10),
  • New Orleans (district 5),
  • St. Louis (district 6),
  • Wichita (district 9).

The records relate to disposal of tracts of agricultural and forest land 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 auxiliary airfields, ordnance plants, prisoner-of-war camps, proving grounds, radio range stations, and training camps) in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas. Included are appraisal reports, correspondence, lists of the legal descriptions of tracts and the names of their former owners, and title opinions. Nontextual records include plat maps and photographs of buildings.

Records of the Cotton Stabilization Corporation, which had headquarters in New Orleans, 1930-1935. The records document the American Cotton Cooperative Associations's efforts to stabilize prices by buying more than a million bales of surplus cotton. Included are correspondence and financial reports.

Finding Aids

  • Draft inventory including a list of sites and installations.
  • Entries 73-76 in Daniel T. Goggin, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Farm Credit Administration, NC 28 (1963).

 

Record Group 104
Records of the U.S. Mint

Administrative History
The Bureau of the Mint, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of February 12, 1873, succeeded the Mint of the United States, founded in 1792 at Philadelphia and continued there after the Federal Government moved to Washington, DC, in 1800. Until October 9, 1961, the Director administered regulations issued under the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 and those concerning newly mined silver, and collected statistics on U.S. gold and silver production.

Records Description
Dates: 1840-1942
Volume: 22 cubic feet
Records of the Philadelphia Mint relating to merchants and banks forwarding Mexican gold pesos for reimbursement through the Federal Reserve System. Included are correspondence, cablegrams, certificates, and affidavits, 1929-1931.

Records of the Branch Mint and Assay Office, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1840-1942. The records relate to bullion, repairs to the Mint Building, and administrative matters. Included are letters sent and received, vouchers and estimates for repairs, registers and statements.

Finding Aids
Entries 493-505 in Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of the Mint, NC 152 (1958).

 

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.

Records Description
Dates: 1951-1954
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot
Records of the 321st Signal Base Depot, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, relating to assumption of command. The records are general orders.

 

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.

Records Description
Dates: 1899-1961
Volume: 89 cubic feet
Records of the following:

  • Army and Navy General Hospital, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 1887-1939;
  • Army General Hospital, Fort Bayard, New Mexico, 1899-1912;
  • Medical Supply Depot, El Paso, Texas, 1916- 1917;
  • Medical Depots (32nd, 321st, and 388th), Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 1955-1961.

The records document hospital administration and operation and consist primarily of correspondence and circulars. There are some registers of patients and clinical records for the Fort Bayard hospital.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

Restrictions
Access to patients' clinical records is restricted because of personal privacy concerns.

 

Record Group 114
Records of the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Administrative History
The Soil Conservation Service 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: 1933-1971
Volume: 444 cubic feet
Records of regional, State, area, and project offices in:

  • Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, Region 4;
  • Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas, Region 6;
  • Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, ca. 1930-1950, Region 8.

The records relate to agronomy, CCC work, conservation, drought relief, erosion control, experimental stations, forestry, hydrology, land utilization, watershed projects, and wildlife and woodlands management. Included are correspondence, memorandums, newspaper clippings, press releases, reports, and studies. Nontextual records include photographs and maps.

Records of engineering and watershed projects at Double Creek, Four-Mile Creek, and Oak Creek, Oklahoma. The records document construction of these projects. They are case files that include correspondence, progress reports, and soil mechanics reports. Nontextual records include construction plans, structural designs, and vicinity topographical maps.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory including a list of file folder titles.

 

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. U.S. marshals execute and serve writs, processes, and orders issued by U.S. courts, U.S. commissioners or magistrates, and commissions. They also notify the Department of Justice of defiance of Federal authority.

Records Description
Dates: 1849-1980
Volume: 800 cubic feet
Records of the following U.S. attorneys:

  • Arkansas, Eastern District. Correspondence (1849-1867 and 1899-1917) and precedent case files (1940-1960), including files covering cases on selective service violations and desegregation at Central High School, Little Rock, 1957;
  • Arkansas, Western District. Grand jury minutes and dockets (1895- 1935) and precedent case files (1970-1973).
  • Louisiana, Eastern District. Precedent case files (1926-1974), including files covering cases involving H. Rap Brown and Carlos Marcello, 1970's.
  • Louisiana, Western District. Precedent case files (1914-1973), including files covering denial of voter registration to blacks in Bienville Parish, 1964.
  • Oklahoma, Northern District. Precedent case files (1931-1974), including files covering a case on contested ownership of an Osage land allotment containing oil deposits, 1920.
  • Oklahoma, Eastern District. Grand jury dockets (1908-1932) and precedent case files (1932-1957), including files covering cases involving Jackson Barnett, a wealthy Native American, in the 1920's.
  • Oklahoma, Western District. Briefs and transcripts of hearings (1883-1943) and precedent case files (1908-1964), including files covering the Osage Murders, 1920's; Jackson Barnett, 1920's; and "Machine Gun" Kelly, 1935.
  • Oklahoma, Indian Territory. Civil and criminal dockets and grand jury dockets (1890-1907).
  • Texas, Northern District. Precedent case files (1947-1978) including files covering a case on the custody of the rifle used in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 1963.
  • Texas, Southern District. Precedent case files (1911-1973) including files covering a case on the Texas City Disaster (1947) and a case involving charges of income tax evasion against George Parr, the politically powerful "Duke of Duval County," in the 1970's.
  • Texas, Eastern District. Precedent case files (1942-1967).
  • Texas, Western District. Precedent case files (1936-1980), including files covering cases on the assassination of Federal judge John Woods and the suit of atheist Madalynn Murray O'Hair against NASA for Bible reading by the crew of Apollo 8, Christmas Eve, 1968.

Records relate to bribery, civil rights, claims by Indian tribes, the status of restricted tribal land, conspiracy, draft evasion, fraud, internal revenue and firearms laws, and school desegregation. They generally include attorneys' 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.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory for each district.

Related Microfilm Publications
M699, Letters Sent by the Department of Justice: General and Miscellaneous, 1818-1904;
M940, Letters Received by the Department of Justice from the State of Louisiana, 1871-1884;
M1418, Letters Received by the Department of Justice from the State of Arkansas, 1871-1884;
M1449, Letters Received by the Department of Justice from the State of Texas, 1871-1884.

Restrictions
Access to some investigative case files may be restricted because of law enforcement needs or personal privacy concerns.

 

Record Group 121
Records of the Public Buildings Service

Administrative History
Federal construction activities outside the District of Columbia were performed by individual agencies and, to some extent, by special commissions and officers appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury until 1853, when a Construction Branch was created in the Department of the Treasury. The Branch later became the Bureau of Construction in the Office of the Supervising Architect, and that office, in turn, was transferred in 1933 to the Public Buildings Branch of the Procurement Division. The Public Buildings Administration was created in the Federal Works Agency in 1939 by consolidating the Public Buildings Branch and the National Park Service's Branch of Buildings Management. The latter branch had inherited responsibilities for Federal construction in the District of Columbia from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol.

An act of June 30, 1949, abolished the Public Buildings Administration and transferred its functions to the newly established General Services Administration (GSA). The Public Buildings Service was established December 11, 1949, by the Administrator of General Services to assume the functions once assigned to the Public Buildings Administration.

The Public Buildings Service designs, constructs, manages, maintains, and protects most Federally-owned and -leased buildings. It is also responsible for the acquisition, utilization, and custody of GSA real and related personal property.

Records Description
Dates: 1946-1959
Volume: 196 cubic feet
Records of the Acquisition and Disposal Division. The records relate to disposal of surplus real property and document the sale or donation of Federal property (such as airfields, dams and reservoirs, forts and other military installations, Post Office buildings and sites, some prisoner-of-war camps, and Veterans Administration hospitals) in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The records are case files, which generally include correspondence, deeds, narrative reports, and reports of survey and title search. Nontextual records include photographs and maps. See RG 269 and RG 291 for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory including lists of the names and locations of property.

 

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: 1928-1933
Volume: 4 cubic feet
Records of the Supervising Hay Inspector of the Southwest Division Office, San Antonio, of the Hay, Seed, and Feed Division, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The records relate primarily to the production, inspection, and marketing of hay and the administrative activities of the inspector.

Finding Aids
Entry 94 in Virgil E. Baugh, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Agricultural Marketing Service, NC 118 (1965).

 

Record Group 137
Records of the Federal Supply Service

Administrative History
In 1949 the General Services Administration established the Federal Supply Service to replace the Bureau of Federal Supply. It is responsible for the procurement of supplies for civilian executive agencies and administers the utilization and disposal of surplus property and the Government's transportation management system.

Records Description
Dates: 1977-1979
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records of the Office of Transportation and Public Utilities, which conducted surveys of the transportation and traffic management activities of various agencies and made recommendations for improvements. Included are organizational charts, records about contracts, receipts, cost comparisons, correspondence, and statistical data.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory including folder titles.

 

Record Group 138
Records of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Administrative History
The Federal Power Commission was an independent agency operating under the Federal Water Power Act of 1920 and the Natural Gas Act of 1938. Originally composed of the Secretaries of War, the Interior, and Agriculture, it was reorganized in 1930 to include five full-time commissioners appointed by the President.

The Commission regulated the interstate aspects of the electric power and natural gas industries, including the licensing, construction, and operation of non-Federal hydroelectric power projects on Federal lands or navigable U.S. waters, regulating rates, issuing certificates for gas sales, controlling the holding of interlocking positions in public utilities companies, and regulating the securities, mergers, consolidations, and acquisitions of such companies.

The Commission was terminated by an act of August 4, 1977, and its functions were transferred to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the Department of Energy.

Records Description
Dates: 1930-1971
Volume: 89 cubic feet
Records of the Fort Worth Regional Office, Federal Power Commission. The records document the work of the Arkansas-White-Red Basins Interagency Committee; Interagency Committee on Water Resources; U.S. Study Commission Texas; and economic development, power generation, and water resources in the following river basins:

  • Arkansas
  • Brazos
  • Canadian
  • Colorado
  • Mississippi (Black)
  • Missouri
  • Neches
  • Red
  • Rio Grande
  • Sabine
  • Trinity

The records include correspondence, interagency committee meeting minutes, and numerous technical reports and studies. See RG 414 for related records.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 147
Records of the Selective Service System, 1940-

Administrative History
An Executive order of September 23, 1940, established the Selective Service System to provide an orderly, just, and democratic method of obtaining men for military and naval service. The System operated through a director and national headquarters, regional boards, boards of appeal, and local boards. Through the local boards the System registered, classified, and selected for induction male citizens and aliens subject to service. Except between December 5, 1942, and December 5, 1943, when it was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Manpower Commissioner, the System was responsible to the President.

Records Description
Dates: 1940-1946
Volume: 388 cubic feet
Records of the Arkansas State Headquarters. The records are

  • registration cards for individuals born in Arkansas between April 28, 1877, and February 16, 1897
  • DSS Form 301, "Relief from Military Service"
  • DSS Form 304, "Alien's Personal History and Statement" for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 required all male aliens, within a certain age group, to register.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

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 advances to agricultural cooperative marketing associations. The Corporation was abolished on July 1, 1939.

Records Description
Dates: 1918-1926
Volume: 5 cubic feet
Records of the Dallas agricultural loan office which document loans to individual borrowers and collateral on advances to banks and companies. Included are a journal of transactions and register of loans.

 

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: 1952-1974
Volume: 113 cubic feet
Records of the following:

  • Dallas regional office, 1952-1965;
  • New Orleans area office, 1973-1974;
  • Oklahoma City district office, 1964- 1966;
  • Washington, D.C. office, 1939-1945

The records relate to claims for payment of back wages. They are primarily closed investigative cases files, which include correspondence, exhibits such as payroll and accounting records, investigation reports, and transcripts of investigative interviews with claimants.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

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 Department of War 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 Material Command.

Records Description
Dates: 1865-1966
Volume: 33 cubic feet
Records of the following facilities in Texas:

  • Red River Army Depot, Texarkana, 1942-1966;
  • San Antonio Arsenal, 1940-1947;
  • San Jacinto Ordnance Depot, Channelview, 1941-1960;
  • and several other ordnance plants and works.

The records relate primarily to administrative matters, the commanding officer, and the requisition, purchase, and issuance of arms and ammunition to military posts. Included are correspondence, name and subject indexes, and registers of correspondence.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 163
Records of the Selective Service System (World War I)

Administrative History
The Selective Service System, under the direction of the Office of the Provost Marshal General, was authorized by an act of May 18, 1917, to register and induct men into military service. Much of the management of the draft was left to the States, where local draft boards were established on the basis of 1 for every 30,000 people. These boards, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the State Governor, registered, classified, inducted, and delivered to mobilization camps men who were eligible for the draft. Legal and medical advisory boards assisted the local boards and registrants, and district boards were established to pass on occupational exemption claims and to hear appeals. The Provost Marshal General's Office worked with local and district boards through Selective Service State Headquarters. Classification ceased shortly after the Armistice in 1918, and by May 31, 1919, all Selective Service organizations were closed except the Office of the Provost Marshal General, which was abolished July 15, 1919.

Records Description
Dates: 1917-1919
Volume: 107 cubic feet
Records of local boards in

  • Arkansas,
  • Oklahoma,
  • Louisiana,
  • Texas,
  • New Mexico.

The records are:

  • docket books for Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas containing an individual's name, county of residence, and dates of actions taken such as notification, appearance, exemption, and report to camp; some contain home address, marital status, number of dependents, citizenship, and remarks pertaining to discharge or alien status;
  • lists of names of men from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas ordered to report for induction;
  • indexes of names of deserters from Arkansas and Texas;
  • lists of names of delinquents and deserters from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

Record Group 170
Records of the Drug Enforcement Administration

Administrative History
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was created in July 1973 by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973 (5 U.S.C. app.), which merged four separate drug law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The agency's responsibilities include investigating major narcotic violators at interstate and international levels, enforcing Federal regulations on the legal manufacture and distribution of controlled substances, managing a national narcotics intelligence system, coordinating with Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities, training, conducting scientific research, and exchanging information about drug traffic prevention and control. Region 8, with a regional office in New Orleans, has subordinate offices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Birmingham, Alabama; Jackson, Mississippi; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Mobile, Alabama; and Nashville, Tennessee, and investigative groups (Groups I- III) in New Orleans.

Records Description
Dates: 1969-1975
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records submitted to the assistant regional administrator from subordinate offices and investigative groups, 1974-1975. The records document drug seizures and investigative activities. Included are statistical and narrative reports on DEA Forms 346 and 347.

Records submitted to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs assistant regional director, September 1969-May 1970. The records document large drug seizures or unusual events. They are brief memorandums submitted as weekly reports.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory.

 

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 Service 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: 1942-1950
Volume: 1 cubic foot
Records of the Dallas Chemical Procurement District relating to industrial mobilization and procurement planning in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The records are numbered memorandums, 1949-1950.

Records from the Midwest Chemical Warfare Depot (formerly Pine Bluff CWD), Arsenal, Arkansas. The records document activities at the depot and include General Orders, narrative and statistical operations reports, 1942-1946.

 

Record Group 181
Records of 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: 1865-1956
Volume: 537 cubic feet
Records of Headquarters of the 8th (New Orleans), 10th (San Juan), and 15th (Canal Zone) Naval Districts, and bases, industrial managers, stations, and shipbuilding supervisors under the command of those districts; some correspondence of the Commandant, 8th Naval District, 1917-1933 and records of the Commanding Officer, New Orleans Naval Station, 1865-1875, relating to U.S. Ironclads in Reserve. The records document administration and general operations of the districts. Most are arranged according to the subject classification scheme of the Navy Filing Manual (A series), 1942-1956.

Records of Headquarters of the Naval Air Advanced Training Command, the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, and the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, 1942-1958. These records document activities, such as those of the Navy's flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels, and include general subject files.

Records of Headquarters of the Naval Air Intermediate Training Command, and the Pensacola Naval Air Station, 1942-1945. These records document administration and general operations and include central subject files.

Finding Aids

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

Related Microfilm Publications
M89, Letters Received by the Secretary of the Navy from Commanding Officers of Squadrons, 1841-1886.

Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted because of national security classification.

 

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 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.

Records Description
Dates: 1933-1943
Volume: 16 cubic feet
Records of the Dallas headquarters office of Region 5 including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The records document the Arkansas Valley Project, the Rio Grande Joint Investigation, and other projects to promote employment, industrial development, and water use. Included are correspondence and planning files.

Finding Aids
Entries 30 and 31 in Virgil E. Baugh, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Regional Offices of the National 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: 1942-1946
Volume: 310 cubic feet
Records for Region V, consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, with headquarters at Dallas, of field activities, the Accounting Department, Enforcement Division, Information Office, Price Division, Rationing Department, several executive and administrative offices, district offices and local boards in the following cities:

  • Baton Rouge;
  • Dallas; Fort Worth;
  • Houston;
  • Kansas City;
  • Little Rock;
  • Lubbock;
  • Natchitoches;
  • New Orleans;
  • St. Louis;
  • San Antonio;
  • Shawnee;
  • Shreveport;
  • Tulsa;
  • Wichita.

The records relate to investigations of companies (case files), price levels, and rationing, and provide insight into the scope of OPA's activities and their impact on local life. Included are applications for price adjustments, case files, daily information reports, industry surveys, newspaper releases, price charts, radio scripts, ration currency audits, reports and issuances, speeches, statistical data, and survey and informational booklets.

Finding Aids

  • Draft inventories.
  • Meyer H. Fishbein and Elaine C. Bennett, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Accounting Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 32 (1951).
  • Fishbein, Walter Weinstein, and Albert W. Winthrop, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Price Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 95 (1956).
  • Fishbein, et al., comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Rationing Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 102 (1958).
  • Betty R. Bucher, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Information Department of the Office of Price Administration, PI 119 (1959).
  • Fishbein and Bucher, comps., Preliminary Inventory of the Office of Price Administration, PI 120 (1959).

 

Record Group 196
Records of the Public Housing Administration

Administrative History
The Federal Public Housing Authority (FHPA) was established in 1942 as part of the National Housing Agency. It acquired functions relating to public housing that had formerly been performed by the Federal Works Agency, the War and Navy Departments, and the Farm Security Administration. The FHPA provided housing for war workers in localities where impending or existing shortages would hinder war activities. As World War II progressed, the FHPA's development activities decreased as its management and disposition functions became more important. In 1947, the FHPA became the Public Housing Administration under the Housing and Home Finance Agency (see RG 207). In 1965, it was transferred to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Records Description
Dates: 1941-1958
Volume: 30 cubic feet
Records of Region 6 and Region 8. The records document war housing projects in Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas and termination of land use by the Federal Government and the sale or return of property to the original owner. Included are correspondence, court orders, declarations of taking, real estate appraisals, and sales and rental agreements.

Records of the Federal Public Housing Authority relating to Title V Reuse Program. The records document the termination of temporary war housing and the reuse of buildings and equipment, and include agreements, contracts, correspondence, deeds, and instructions. Nontextual records include maps and photographs of buildings at airfields and prisoner-of-war camps.

Finding Aids
Draft inventory including a list of file folder titles.

 

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