Records of the U.S. Housing Corporation [USHC]
(Record Group 3)
1917-52
Table of Contents
- 3.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
- 3.2 RECORDS OF PREDECESSOR AND OTHER RELATED AGENCIES
1917-37
- 3.2.1 Records of the Section on Housing and the Housing Committee
- 3.2.2 Records of the Commission on Living Conditions of War
Workers
- 3.2.3 Records of the Department of Labor
- 3.3 RECORDS OF U.S. HOUSING CORPORATION OFFICIALS
1917-52
- 3.3.1 Records of USHC presidents
- 3.3.2 Records of the Office of the Vice President
- 3.3.3 Records of the Office of the Secretary
- 3.3.4 Records of the Office of the Treasurer
- 3.3.5 Records of the Executive Secretary
- 3.3.6 Records of the Office of General Manager
- 3.4 RECORDS OF USHC DIVISIONS AND RELATED UNITS
1917-42
- 3.4.1 Records of the Fiscal Division
- 3.4.2 Records of the Legal Division
- 3.4.3 Records of the Service Division
- 3.4.4 Records of the Homes Registration and Information Division
(HRID)
- 3.4.5 Records of the Committee on Requisitioned Houses
- 3.4.6 Records of the Surveys and Statistics Division
- 3.4.7 Records of the Transportation and Municipal Loans Division
- 3.4.8 Records of the Real Estate Division
- 3.4.9 Records of the Architectural Division
- 3.4.10 Records of the Town Planning Division
- 3.4.11 Records of the Engineering Division
- 3.4.12 Records of the Construction Division
- 3.4.13 Records of the Engineering-Construction Division
- 3.4.14 Records of the Requirements Division
- 3.4.15 Records of the Industrial Relations Division
- 3.4.16 Records of the Operating Division
- 3.4.17 Records of the Insurance Division
- 3.4.18 Records of the Adjustment Committee
- 3.4.19 Records of the Custodian of Salvaged Properties
- 3.4.20 Records of the Legal and Real Estate Division
- 3.5 RECORDS OF THE REFERENCE LIBRARY
1917-21
- 3.6 RECORDS RELATING TO U.S. HOUSING CORPORATION TRANSFER OF
FUNCTIONS OR LIQUIDATION
1920-50
- 3.6.1 Records of the Public Buildings Service (PBS)
- 3.6.2 Records of the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration
- 3.6.3 Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC)
- 3.7 FIELD OFFICE RECORDS
1918-30
- 3.7.1 Records of the Transportation and Municipal Loans Division
- 3.7.2 Records of the Town Planning Division
- 3.7.3 Records of the Washington, DC, Division of the U.S. Homes
Registration Service
- 3.7.4 Records of the Government Hotels (a Washington housing
project also known as the Washington Dormitories and the
Washington Residence Halls)
- 3.8 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1918-19
- 3.9 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
Established: By the Secretary of Labor under the laws of the state of New York on July 8, 1918, pursuant to EO 2889, June 18, 1918, and provisions of an emergency appropriation act, June 4, 1918 (40 Stat. 595), permitting the establishment of one or more corporations to carry out the provisions of the Housing for War Needs Act (40 Stat. 550), May 16, 1918. A subsidiary, U.S. Housing Corporation of Pennsylvania, was organized September 24, 1918, and formally approved by EO 3408, February 16, 1921.
Predecessor Agencies:
In the Council of National Defense:
- Housing Section (or Section on Housing), Subcommittee on Welfare
- Work, Committee on Labor (June-Oct. 1917)
- Housing Committee (Oct. 1917-Feb. 1918)
In the Department of Labor:
- Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation (Feb.-July 1918)
Transfers: To Procurement Division, Department of the Treasury, by EO 7641, June 22, 1937; to Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency, by EO 8186, June 29, 1939; to Federal Home Loan Bank Administration, National Housing Agency, by EO 9070, February 24, 1942.
Functions: Served as executive agent for the Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation. Provided housing, local transportation, and other community facilities for industrial workers. Conducted surveys of industrial communities for the Joint Board on Industrial Surveys of the War Industries Board. Planned and contracted construction projects for housing and other facilities for the Commission on Living Conditions of War Workers.
Construction activities ceased following the Armistice. After July 1, 1919, principally engaged in liquidating assets and disposing of real property.
Abolished: U.S. Housing Corporation of Pennsylvania dissolved February 28, 1951; USHC of New York dissolved July 17, 1952; termination of agency authorized by Home Loan Bank Board, September 8, 1952.
Finding Aids: Katherine H. Davidson, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the United States Housing Corporation, PI 140 (1962).
Related Records: Record copies of publications of the U.S. Housing Corporation in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government.
Subject Access Terms: World War I agency.
3.2 RECORDS OF PREDECESSOR AND OTHER RELATED AGENCIES
1917-37
History: Housing Section (or Section on Housing), Subcommittee on Welfare Work, Committee on Labor, Council of National Defense, established May 28, 1917, to conduct preliminary surveys of housing problems created by mobilization for war. Absorbed by Housing Committee, Council of National Defense, October 1917.
Housing Committee, Council of National Defense, established October 9, 1917, to investigate the problem of housing workers employed on government contracts, determine the effect of housing conditions on the war program, and recommend solutions. Absorbed by the Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation, Department of Labor, February 1918.
Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation, Department of Labor, established February 12, 1918, in anticipation of passage of the Housing for War Needs Act. Staff of the bureau transferred to and became U.S. Housing Corporation of New York, July 8, 1918. SEE 3.1.
3.2.1 Records of the Section on Housing and the Housing Committee
Textual Records: Replies to questionnaires and related correspondence, 1917- 18.
3.2.2 Records of the Commission on Living Conditions of War Workers
History: Established by the Secretary of Labor in October 1918 to investigate the extent to which local housing conditions retarded war production. Following the Armistice, formulated national housing policies as the Commission on Living Conditions. Terminated July 1, 1919.
Textual Records: General records, including correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports, and studies on housing in the United States and other countries, 1918-19.
3.2.3 Records of the Department of Labor
Textual Records: Records relating to housing and the USHC, 1917- 35, 1937.
3.3 RECORDS OF U.S. HOUSING CORPORATION OFFICIALS
1917-52
3.3.1 Records of USHC presidents
Textual Records: Records of Presidents Otto M. Eidlitz, 1917-19; Leroy K. Sherman, 1919-20; Robert Watson, 1918-27; and Lewis E. Reed, 1919-28. Records collected by the USHC in response to a Senate investigation of its conduct during the war, including both material submitted in compliance with requests for information by the Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and documentation collected in defense of USHC actions, 1918-20. Records of the Committee on Publications relating to its preparation of required periodic reports to Congress, 1919-20.
3.3.2 Records of the Office of the Vice President
Textual Records: Subject file of Vice President Irving E. Macomber, 1919-20.
3.3.3 Records of the Office of the Secretary
Textual Records: Minutes of the Board of Directors of the USHC of New York, 1918-52, and of Pennsylvania, 1918-33, 1941-50. Records relating to corporation matters, 1918-52. "Exhibits File," 1942- 45.
3.3.4 Records of the Office of the Treasurer
Textual Records: Journal entries relating to payments, with supporting fiscal documents and correspondence, 1918-35.
3.3.5 Records of the Executive Secretary
Textual Records: Memorandums and forms relating to project activities, 1918- 19.
3.3.6 Records of the Office of General Manager
Textual Records: General records, principally correspondence, relating to labor conditions, housing problems, and construction activities, 1918-19.
3.4 RECORDS OF USHC DIVISIONS AND RELATED UNITS
1917-42
3.4.1 Records of the Fiscal Division
Textual Records: Correspondence, 1918-19. Periodic financial statements, 1918-34, 1937, 1940. Ledgers, 1919-31.
3.4.2 Records of the Legal Division
Textual Records: General records, 1918-21. Contracts and related records, 1917-24.
3.4.3 Records of the Service Division
Textual Records: USHC general subject file, 1917-20, with index. Project file no. 1368 for the Seven Pines Project, Richmond, VA, 1918-19. Applications for employment with the USHC, 1918-19. Records relating to U.S. Housing Corporation liquidation plans, 1919-22.
3.4.4 Records of the Homes Registration and Information Division
(HRID)
Textual Records: General records, 1918-19. Reports and correspondence relating to housing needs, 1918. Records of the Homes Registration Section, including the office file of HRID Manager James Ford, correspondence with field agents and committees, and records relating to rent profiteering, 1918-19. Publicity records, 1918-19.
3.4.5 Records of the Committee on Requisitioned Houses
Textual Records: Reports and other records of conferences on the Washington, DC, housing situation and on commandeering houses, 1918-19.
3.4.6 Records of the Surveys and Statistics Division
Textual Records: Questionnaires, exhibits, reports, and correspondence relating to industrial and housing surveys, 1918.
3.4.7 Records of the Transportation and Municipal Loans Division
Textual Records: Subject file, 1918-22. "Project books" relating to transportation and to Norfolk, VA, ferries, 1918-24. Correspondence, agreements, and other records relating to contracts for payments in lieu of local taxes, 1918-24.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (4 items): Washington, DC (2 items), showing track construction for Washington Belt Line. Norfolk-Portsmouth, VA, graph of daily ferry traffic flow, October 1920 (1 item). Newport News, VA, project area plan, showing transportation route to Morrison Aviation Camp, 1918-20 (1 item). SEE ALSO 3.8.
3.4.8 Records of the Real Estate Division
Textual Records: Miscellaneous correspondence, 1918-22. Reference file of the division manager, 1918-23. Records relating to appraisals and acquisition of land, 1918-19. Records of the "Own Your Own Home" Section, including general records, publicity material, and a subject file, 1917-19. Office file of K. V. Haymaker, Building Association Specialist in the Building Loan Section, 1919.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (2 items): Proposed land acquisitions and changes in housing development, Puget Sound, WA, 1918 (1 item). USHC properties, 39th ward, Philadelphia, PA, 1918. SEE ALSO 3.8.
3.4.9 Records of the Architectural Division
Architectural and Engineering Plans (100 items): Blueprint copies of plans of standardized buildings, 1918. SEE ALSO 3.8.
3.4.10 Records of the Town Planning Division
Textual Records: Investigative reports, memorandums, and other records of the assistant to the manager, 1919.
Architectural and Engineering Plans (75 items): Maps and plans of parts of certain cities, showing USHC properties, 1918-19. SEE ALSO 3.8.
Glass Negatives (2 images): Meeting of the American Association of Landscape Architects, Washington, DC, December 1918 (TP). SEE ALSO 3.9.
3.4.11 Records of the Engineering Division
Textual Records: Correspondence, memorandums, and reports of the chief engineer, 1918-19.
3.4.12 Records of the Construction Division
Textual Records: Reports, correspondence, and instructions of the division manager and assistant manager, 1918-19. Card file relating to construction companies, 1918. Records of the Cost- Reports Engineering Branch, including general subject file of the chief cost engineer, 1918-19.
3.4.13 Records of the Engineering-Construction Division
Textual Records: Consolidated files of construction projects, 1918-20. Tracings file of the Plan File Section, 1918-20.
3.4.14 Records of the Requirements Division
Textual Records: Applications from private builders for industrial housing construction permits in critical areas, 1918. Correspondence relating to housing construction with private capital, 1918.
3.4.15 Records of the Industrial Relations Division
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1918-19. Subject file, 1918-19.
3.4.16 Records of the Operating Division
Textual Records: General subject file, 1918-20. Correspondence, reports, and other documents relating to the operation of projects, 1918-20.
3.4.17 Records of the Insurance Division
Textual Records: General records, 1918-20.
3.4.18 Records of the Adjustment Committee
Textual Records: Minutes, 1918-21. Correspondence and reports relating to contractor claims adjustment, 1918-20. Report of the Adjustment Committee (1919), with supplements, 1919-20.
3.4.19 Records of the Custodian of Salvaged Properties
Textual Records: Correspondence, 1919-20. Subject file, 1919-20.
3.4.20 Records of the Legal and Real Estate Division
Textual Records: General records, 1918-42. Records relating to properties in Glenwood, VA, 1918-29; Norfolk District, VA, 1918- 40; Philadelphia, PA, 1918-42; Rock Island District, IL, 1918-42; Vallejo, CA, 1918-39; and Watertown, CT, 1918-41.
3.5 RECORDS OF THE REFERENCE LIBRARY
1917-21
Textual Records: Subject file ("Vertical File"), 1918-19. Records relating to local housing associations, 1917-19.
Photographs and Lantern Slides (4,450 images): Stages in the construction of government housing projects and planned communities, 1918-21, including dwellings in Bremerton and Charleston, Washington (HC, 4,207 images; LS, 243 images). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Photographic Prints (338 images): Slum conditions in Chester, PA, 1918 (MCS, 17 images). Trolley cars and tracks in several eastern cities, in album, 1918-19 (MTF, 312 images). Sleeping facilities for Chinese workers and dining facilities at a cooperative factory in Saint Etienne, Loire, France, 1918-19 (MSF, 9 images). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Photographic Negatives (202 images): Blueprints, architectural drawings, and maps used to design housing and community structures for World War I workers, 1918 (BGP). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Glass Negatives (10 images): Unidentified fields and houses, 1917-21 (MFH). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Sketches (13 images): Posters to advertise for war workers housing in Washington, DC, 1918 (MPW). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Drawings (249 images): Printed architectural drawings of French rural dwellings, in portfolios, ca. 1919 (MFB). SEE ALSO 3.9.
Finding Aids: Lists of cities with photographed projects for series BGP, HC, and LS.
3.6 RECORDS RELATING TO U.S. HOUSING CORPORATION TRANSFER OF
FUNCTIONS OR LIQUIDATION
1920-50
3.6.1 Records of the Public Buildings Service (PBS)
Textual Records: Records of PBS officials relating to USHC liquidation, 1937-42.
3.6.2 Records of the Federal Home Loan Bank Administration
Textual Records: Reports, correspondence, and other records relating to USHC liquidation, 1942-50.
3.6.3 Home Owner's Loan Corporation (HOLC)
Textual Records: General records of the Auditing Department, 1942-50, and of the comptroller, 1942-46. Treasurer's schedule of disbursements and vouchers, 1943-45. Legal Department subject file and project records, 1942-50. Records relating to USHC property in New Brunswick, NJ, 1920-44. Property Management Division dockets, 1941-45. Office file of Stanley Baughman, HOLC Deputy General Manager in Charge of Property Management and a member of the USHC Board of Directors, 1942-45.
3.7 FIELD OFFICE RECORDS
1918-30
3.7.1 Records of the Transportation and Municipal Loans Division
Textual Records: Reports, correspondence, blueprints, and newspaper clippings accumulated by the consulting engineer, 1918, and an office file of the project manager for the Norfolk, VA, ferries, 1918-19 (in Philadelphia). Reports, correspondence, and other records of the New York City Branch Office, 1918-19 (in New York).
3.7.2 Records of the Town Planning Division
Textual Records (in Philadelphia): Correspondence and other records relating to town planning in Erie, PA, 1918-19.
3.7.3 Records of the Washington, DC, Division of the U.S. Homes Registration Service
Textual Records: Office files of the division manager, 1918-19. Correspondence and other records relating to housing needs, 1918. Records relating to rooming houses and commandeered houses in Washington, DC, 1918-19.
3.7.4 Records of the Government Hotels (a Washington housing project also known as the Washington Dormitories and the Washington Residence Halls)
Textual Records: General records, 1919-30. General ledgers, 1919- 30. Miscellaneous correspondence, 1919-29. Newspaper clippings, 1920-21.
3.8 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1918-19
Architectural and Engineering Plans: Housing projects in various localities, including general and topographic maps of project areas, street and site plans, grading and paving plans, sewer and water supply plans, street profiles, property maps, and architectural drawings of individual proposed houses (or house types), 1918-19.
SEE Architectural and Engineering Plans UNDER 3.4.7, 3.4.8, 3.4.9, and 3.4.10.
SEE Photographs and Lantern Slides UNDER 3.5. SEE Photographic Prints UNDER 3.5. SEE Photographic Negatives UNDER 3.5. SEE Glass Negatives UNDER 3.4.10 and 3.5. SEE Sketches UNDER 3.5. SEE Drawings UNDER 3.5.
Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.
This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.
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