Records of the Cooperative State Research Service [CSRS]
(Record Group 164)
1888-1989
Table of Contents
- 164.1 Administrative History
- 164.2 Headquarters Records 1888-1974
- 164.3 Records of Experiment Stations 1891-1938
- 164.4 Cartographic Records (General) 1937-41
- 164.5 Machine-Readable Records (General) 1988-89
Established: In the Department of Agriculture, by Secretary's Memorandum 1000-1, June 17, 1981, and formal Secretary's order, September 30, 1981, published as 46 FR 47747.
Predecessor Agencies:
In the Department of Agriculture:
- Office of Experiment Stations (OES, 1888-1915)
- OES, States Relations Service (1915-23)
- OES (1923-42)
- OES, Agricultural Research Administration (ARA, 1942-53)
- OES, Agricultural Research Service (ARS, 1953-55)
- State Experiment Stations Division, Experiment Stations Divisions, ARS (1955-61)
- Cooperative State Experiment Station Service (1961-63)
- Cooperative State Research Service (1963-78)
- Cooperative Research Staff, Science and Education Administration (SEA, 1978-81)
Functions: Administers federal programs for the promotion of agricultural research by state and territorial experiment stations, and by other approved institutions.
Finding Aids: Edward E. Hill, comp., "Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Office of Experiment Stations," NC 132 (Oct. 1965).
Related Records:Record copies of publications of the Cooperative State Research Service in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government.
Irrigation and drainage investigation records of the Office of Experiment Stations in RG 8, Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering.
164.2 Headquarters Records
1888-1979
History: OES established in the Department of Agriculture, October 1, 1888, pursuant to the Hatch Act (24 Stat. 440), March 2, 1887, which authorized cooperative federal and state agricultural research programs. Assigned to the States Relations Service, July 1, 1915. Restored to autonomous status within the Department of Agriculture by Secretary's Memorandum 436, effective July 1, 1923. Placed in the newly created Agricultural Research Administration by EO 9069, February 23, 1942. Transferred to the Agricultural Research Service, successor to ARA, by Secretary's Memorandum 1320, supplement 4, November 2, 1953. Reconstituted within ARS pursuant to ARS Administrator's letter to Directors of Experiment Stations, November 2, 1955, as the Experiment Stations Divisions, consisting of the Territorial Experiment Stations (TES) Division and the State Experiment Stations (SES) Division. TES Division abolished, effective November 2, 1961, by Temporary Circular 61-156, November 3, 1961, with functions transferred to Crop Research Division, ARS. SES Division separated from ARS and became the Cooperative State Experiment Station Service, effective September 1, 1961, by Secretary's Memorandum 1462, supplement 1, August 30, 1961. Redesignated Cooperative State Research Service, effective November 18, 1963, as announced by departmental press release, November 22, 1963. CSRS abolished, and functions assigned to Cooperative Research Staff in newly established Science and Education Administration (SEA), effective January 24, 1978, by Secretary's order, January 19, 1978, published as 43 FR 3254. SEA abolished and independent Cooperative State Research Service established by Secretary's Memorandum 1000-1, June 17, 1981, and formal Secretary's order, September 22, 1981, effective September 30, 1981, published as 46 FR 47747.
Textual Records: General correspondence, 1888-1923, 1937-67. Correspondence with the Secretary of Agriculture, bureaus of the Department of Agriculture, other federal agencies, agricultural colleges, and state experiment stations, 1888-1937. Correspondence with insular experiment stations, 1897-1943. Correspondence concerning associations, 1900-37. Correspondence relating to Alaskan experiment stations, 1947-51. Newsletters ("OES Circular Letters") to directors of experiment stations, 1949-60.
Textual Records: Records concerning Soil Conservation Service, Civil Works Administration, and state projects, 1927-37. Experiment station progress reports, 1956-73. Cooperative regional research project case files, 1947-74.
164.2.3 Records of OES directors
Textual Records: Correspondence of Director Alfred Charles True, 1893-1929; and Assistant Director Edwin W. Allen, 1910-29. Correspondence, 1913-27, and articles and addresses, 1914-50, of agricultural engineer and Director Robert W. Trullinger.
164.2.4 Records relating to publications
Textual Records: Annual reports, bulletins, and other publications, 1898-1928. "Card index of experiment station literature," 1890-1921 (47 ft.). Records, 1930-60, used to prepare State Agricultural Experiment Stations (1962). Research notes and draft texts, 1923-29, compiled by Alfred Charles True for his books, History of Agricultural Education in the United States, 1785-1925 (1929) and History of Agricultural Experimentation and Research in the United States, 1607-1925 (1937).
Textual Records: Records concerning departmental rulings, 1923- 37. Records relating to appeals for regional research laboratories, 1937-39. Completed registration forms concerning the Agricultural Science Register, 1904-26. Administrative records, 1894-1937. Annual financial reports of stations, 1907- 46. Agendas of meetings of the Committee on Experiment Station Organization, concerning the policy of land-grant colleges and universities, 1940-46. Minutes of meetings of the Experimental Station Committee on Operations and Policy, 1941-79. Operational issuances, 1935-55. Reports of annual inspections of state experiment stations, 1906-55.
164.3 Records of Experiment Stations
1891-1938
164.3.1 Records of Alaska Agricultural Experiment Stations
History: First station opened in Sitka, 1898, becoming also the headquarters office. Headquarters office moved to Juneau, 1931, with Sitka continuing as a substation. Both Juneau office and Sitka substation closed, 1932, ending federal operation of agricultural experiment stations in Alaska.
Textual Records (in Anchorage): Letters sent, 1898-1927. Letters received, 1900-27. Letters received from substations, 1908-27. Personal letters, 1891-97, 1900-20, of Charles C. Georgeson, chief of experiment station work in Alaska (1900-20). Administrative records, 1898-1932 (30 ft.). Financial records, 1909-27. Appropriation ledger, 1906-14. Accounts of expenditures, 1898-1914. Correspondence and administrative records of the substations at Fairbanks, 1906-32; Kenai, 1899-1908; Kodiak, 1907-31; Matanuska, 1917-32; and Rampart, 1904-26.
164.3.2 Records of the Guam Agricultural Experiment Station
Textual Records (in San Francisco): General correspondence, 1908- 32. Annual reports, 1917-32.
164.3.3 Records of the Agricultural Experiment Station at
Mayaguez, PR
Textual Records (in New York): Correspondence, 1901-38 (65 ft.).
164.4 Cartographic Records (General)
1937-41
Maps: Soils, slope, vegetation, and land classification, prepared by state agricultural experiment stations in MD, n.d. (2 items); WV, 1937 (4 items); and NV, 1940-41 (6 items).
164.5 Machine-Readable Records (General)
1988-89
Current Research Information System (CRIS) data, 1988-89, with supporting documentation (2 data sets).
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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