NARA released the 1950 population census schedules for researcher use on April 1, 2022, at https://1950census.archives.gov. This is the 67th in a series of blog posts on the 1950 census.
During the decade after the 1940 census, the Census Bureau's Geographer, Clarence Edmund Batschelet, and his staff tried to keep up with changes in the boundaries of minor civil divisions across the United States. Their work naturally intensified in 1947-49 as they began to create, number, and describe Enumeration Districts for the forthcoming 1950 census. The Bureau's Geography Division created:
- Enumeration District maps that are digitally available at https://1950census.archives.gov as well as in the National Archives Catalog as part of the series, Enumeration District and Related Maps, 1880-1950 (NAID 821491), at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/821491.
- Enumeration District descriptions that are digitally available at https://1950census.archives.gov as well as at https://stevemorse.org/census/eddef1224.html (microfilm images) or https://stevemorse.org/ed/ed.php (transcriptions).
- Correspondence files, of which one major series is digitally available as Maps and Correspondence Relating to Minor Civil Divisions, 1940-1950 (NAID 4392606), at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4392606. These are arranged alphabetically by state, thereunder by county, thereunder by Minor Civil Division (township, town, village, city, etc.) as found on 74 rolls of accessioned microfilm. The images were uploaded to NARA's Catalog in the order in which they appear on microfilm. (Note that some material on the microfilm was photographed out of order). These correspondence files were destroyed after they were microfilmed.
- Post-enumeration maps for the Bureau's statistical publications and related analysis. For some of the works for various census years in which Clarence E. Batschelet is cited as a primary author, follow this link: http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-no2006048785/.
This post will focus on the Correspondence Files since they are the least known and utilized. The Geography Division entered into correspondence with county officials as well as leaders of towns, village, city, boroughs, and other Minor Civil Divisions (MCDs), which are political organizations below the county level. These local officials were asked to annotate maps with information that the Bureau lacked. The annotations were made by red, green, purple, yellow, or other colored pencils. Sadly, because the microfilm is black-and-white, we only know the "color" of particular lines on a map if the color was noted in words. However, the correct information (boundaries) should appear in the digitized color images of original Enumeration District maps (see above for links). Examples of maps or correspondence referring to colored lines include the map and related correspondence with A. Stover Fitz, Borough Manager of Waynesboro, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, as shown below.
| Correspondence with Borough Manager A. Stover Fitz, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, 1948-1949, NAID 17500451, Images 34 and 37 | Annotated Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Maps, 1948-1949, NAID 17500451, Images 35 and 38 |
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Sometimes there were errors in the maps that the Geography Division had obtained. The County Clerk of Furnas County, Nebraska, noted errors and corrections for the Bureau's map of the county, as shown below.
| Letter from Furnas County, Nebraska, Clerk Roscoe E. Story, December 13, 1948, NAID 17500373, Image 7 (click on image for a larger view) | Corrected Map of Furnas County, Nebraska, NAID 17500373, Image 6 (click on image for a larger view) |
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We hope that local historians and genealogists will find these maps and related correspondence useful!