Collection View
The Historical Records Survey Series documents the WPA survey in New Jersey. Included are documents from several features of the project. The bulk of the documents in the series relate to the New Jersey WPA's mission to catalog and preserve materials which represented local government and cultural history. Due to the short lifespan of the Historical Records Survey, the projected scope of the survey was not fulfilled.
The Historical Records Survey Series is divided into three subseries: Protection and Preservation of Cultural Resources in New Jersey, Survey of State and Local Historical Records, Princeton University Library and Reports.
Index of Records at Fort Dix, 1941
Letters of Commendation, 1941
Institutional Forms, 1942 April
Institutional Forms, 1942 April-May
Institutional Forms, 1942 April-May
Institutional Forms, 1942 May-June
Institutional Forms, 1942 September
Institutional Forms, 1942 October
Subseries 1B: Survey of State and Local Historical Records, Princeton University Library, 1936
Subseries 1C: Reports, 1896-1941
General Scientific Projects, 1941
Wharton Codification, 1939
List of the Records of the Meetings Constituting the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, 1906
Completion Report, 1941
Burlington County, 1940
Camden County, 1940
Monmouth County, 1940
Morris County, 1940
Passaic County, 1940
Warren County, 1940
Libraries in New Jersey, 1938-1940
The Indian Site Survey Series contains bound reports which document the status and findings of the New Jersey surveys meant to create a permanent record which accurately depicted and described the culture and daily lives American Indian tribes in New Jersey. The reports, compiled by the New Jersey WPA in association with the Archeological Society of New Jersey, consist of text, explaining what was found, how it was found and where, and photographs, displaying images of artifacts and the excavation sites. While the excavation sites were located throughout the state, the majority of the survey reports were on localities in the southern portion of the state.
The Indian Site Survey Series is arranged chronologically.
1938 December, 1938 December
1940 June, 1940 June
1940 September, 1940 September
1940 December, 1940 December
1941 March, 1941 March
- Scope and Contents
The New Jersey Works Progress Administration Records document the history of several of projects undertaken by the New Jersey WPA. They include the New Jersey Historical Records Survey, the Agricultural Administration Act, and the Indian Site Survey of New Jersey. Also included are reports that were collected in an attempt to preserve the history of New Jersey's municipal governments. Documents types include institutional forms completed by New Jersey records repositories, inventories of various manuscript collections held by Princeton, indices of minutes and town ordinances, and reports from the Indian Site survey project, which include both text and photographs, and the analysis of the 1937 Agricultural Administration Act.
Please see series descriptions in contents list for additional information about individual series.
- Collection Creator Biography:
New Jersey Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created by Executive Order on May 6, 1935. It was renamed the Work Projects Administration in 1939 as it was consolidated into the Federal Works Agency. Congress ended the program in 1943. The WPA was perhaps the largest component of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. The WPA was the largest employer in the country at its height. The goal of the Works Progress Administration was to establish and maintain projects benefiting the public good in order to create work for citizens who were unemployed and on relief. Many of the WPA's projects were related to infrastructure: highways, bridges, buildings, sewers, etc. However, the WPA also employed artists and funded programs that benefited culture and history. One such program was the Federal Writers' Project. The New Jersey Historical Records Survey was a component of the Federal Writers' Project. The stated aim of the Historical Records Survey was "the discovery, preservation, and listing of basic materials for research in the history of the United States." Though only operational for short time, this project collected and compiled marriage and death records, court dockets, indices of laws, board meeting minutes, and inventories of archival repositories from throughout New Jersey. In addition, the New Jersey WPA also conducted an analysis of the Agricultural Administration Act under the Historical Records Survey. The analysis included determining how much acreage of farm land was being used and what types of crops were being grown in New Jersey. The historical Records Survey produced reports on the findings. While not directly related to the Historical Records Survey, the New Jersey Indian Site Survey was another project undertaken by the New Jersey WPA. From 1936 through 1941, the New Jersey WPA, in association with the Archeological Society of New Jersey, conducted archeological digs at various sites in New Jersey. The goal was to catalog, document and preserve aspects of American Indian daily life and culture.
- Acquisition:
The New Jersey Works Progress Administration Records arrived at Princeton in two stages. The individual manuscript forms for the Princeton Collections were completed for Princeton as part of the Historical Records Survey in April through November 1936 . The Federal Works Agency in New Jersey transferred the remainder of the records to Princeton in 1943 for the purpose of safe keeping.
- Appraisal
Duplicates of reports were removed.
- Sponsorship:
These papers were processed with an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Casey Babcock in 2007. Finding aid written by Casey Babcock in 2007.
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
New Jersey Works Progress Administration Records; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/tt44pm862
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-11
- Bibliography
Material within the New Jersey Works Progress Administration Records provided the information for the descriptions. The New Jersey State Archives website provided some of the information in the history (please see: http://pdcbank.state.nj.us/state/darm/links/webcat/queries/fwpa.html) as did the National Archives and Records Administration record on the Works Progress Administration (please see: http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/org_details.jsp?&psub=1155115&st=b).
- Subject Terms:
- Excavations (Archaeology) - New Jersey.
Indigenous peoples of North America -- New Jersey
Municipal government - New Jersey. - Genre Terms:
- Files.
Inventories.
Reports. - Names:
- Archaeological Society of New Jersey.
New Jersey Historical Records Survey Project
New Jersey Works Progress Administration
