On April 1, 2022, the National Archives will release the 1950 Census population schedules online. By law, these records have been confidential for 72 years, but on April 1, the public will be able to access and search the census through a dedicated website. To mark this special occasion, the Motion Picture Branch is sharing … Continue reading Spotlight: 1950 Census Public Service Announcements
The Decennial Census of Population and Housing, aka ‘the census,’ counts each resident of the country every ten years. Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Constitution mandates the enumeration to determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The first census was taken in 1790 during George Washington’s … Continue reading Census Enumeration District Maps for 1940 and 1950 Available Digitally in Our Catalog
The 1950 Census population schedules will be released in April 2022. In preparation, we are adding over 8000 Enumeration District Maps to the online catalog, including all county maps and any map that includes five or more enumeration districts. Click the NAID links to download full size maps from the online catalog Enumeration Districts– or “E.D.s” as they are known … Continue reading Snapshot USA: 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps
Chicago has changed a lot since it was incorporated as a city in 1837. Back then, it was home to just over 4,000 residents, compared to the 2,746,388 counted in the 2020 Census with over 9 million in the metro area. Let’s take a look back at Chicago as it was captured on celluloid both … Continue reading A Brief Visit to Chicago
International Worker’s Day, also known as May Day, is the traditional day that most countries celebrate laborers and contributions of the working class. May Day can trace its origins to the mid-1880s when workers worldwide were demanding an eight-hour workday. In America, the date was chosen by the American Federation of Labor to continue their … Continue reading International Worker’s Day and the Female Workforce
Maps of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay from the Army Corps of Engineers have been digitized and are available to view and download from the National Archives Catalog. The records are part of the Civil Works Map File series from Record Group 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. The records make … Continue reading Maps of Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay from the Army Corps of Engineers Now Digitized
This post is by Daniel Dancis, a Textual Records Archivist and blogger at The Text Message. The National Archives Catalog includes digitized posters and graphics with Spanish text that run the gamut from World War II propaganda posters to contemporary public service announcements. Many of the posters were created for use abroad but there is … Continue reading A Survey of Spanish Language Posters and Related Records
Today’s post was written by Claire Kluskens, Genealogy/Census Subject Matter Expert and Digital Projects Archivist at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Photographs are highly sought-after by many family historians, especially when such precious artifacts are lost due to relocating, estrangement, natural disaster, or simple neglect. They serve not only as a visual aid to … Continue reading Mug Books: An Unusual Avenue of Genealogical Inquiry
February is African American History Month. All of our Special Media branches hold a variety of records relating to African American history. Today, we are featuring some related records from the Cartographic Branch. The above plan shows the layout for the Freeman’s Village that was established on the estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, … Continue reading Cartographic Records Relating to African American History
In honor of the Major League Baseball playoffs, the Cartographic and Architectural Branch has pulled together a few records featuring the national past-time.
