U.S. Farm Security Administration records
Scope and Contents
Records. 1928-1956. 3 linear feet. The bulk of the collection consists of subject files concerning individual resettlement or irrigation projects in Montana. Some files concern local irrigation districts or specific areas such as counties, ranches, farms, etc. Additionally, some files consist only of proposals for projects which were never approved. The files include intra-agency and inter-agency correspondence and memoranda; project proposals; progress reports; engineering reports; preliminary budgets; Wheeler-Case Act forms and data; water flow and precipitation statistics; work orders; appraisal reports; and project maps. In some cases it is unclear from the records when a project is developed as an individual project and when it is tied to a larger project (e.g. the relationship of the Milk River project and the Saco Divide project). Projects that are possibly related to each other are so indicated in the folder titles. Two files, "Wheeler-Case program" and "Indian resettlement" do not relate to specific projects; instead, those files contain general information about the indicated subjects. Prominent correspondents include Dr. P.L. Slavgold, principal agricultural economist for the Denver regional office; John A. Goe, assistant area director; J.D. Matthews, associate agricultural economist; C.H. Wilson, area director; Senator Burton K. Wheeler in his capacity as chairman of the Interstate Commerce Committee concerning the Kinsey Land Use Adjustment project and Fort Keogh; and Senator James Murray concerning the Whitehall Irrigation District.
Dates
- Creation: 1928-1956
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Biographical / Historical
The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was established within the United States Department of Agriculture to implement the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Tenant Act of 1937. The agency also took over certain functions of its predecessor, the Resettlement Administration (RA). The FSA made available and administered long-term loans to tenants and sharecroppers, loaned funds to rural cooperatives, and operated camps for migrant farm workers. The FSA was abolished in 1946; the Farmers Home Administration (FHA) continued its work. The Resettlement Administration, an independent agency, was created by executive order on April 30, 1935. Among its many duties, the RA directed rural rehabilitation, resettlement projects, and the operation of migrant farm worker camps. The RA had been given responsibility for relief programs previously administered by the Emergency Relief Administration and the Department of the Interior's Subsistence Homestead Division. Local aid to farm tenants under the RA consisted of relocation, loans, and experimental community farming. The FSA's activities in Montana consisted of resettlement and irrigation projects intended to aid farming and ranching, or to increase the production of existing farms and ranches in areas where the rural economy was in crisis. Many of these projects were undertaken through the provisions of the Wheeler-Case Act of 1940, whereby the secretary of agriculture was given the responsibility for land acquisition, development, and settlement of irrigation projects. However, it was the responsibility of the secretary of the interior to transmit any recommendations for the construction of projects under the Act. the FSA also administered projects under the wartime Food for Victory program. The FSA accomplished its projects with the help of other federal and state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service and Bureau of Agricultural Economics; the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation; the Public Works Administration; and the Montana State Water Conservation Board.
Extent
3 linear feet
Abstract
The U.S. Farm Security Administration (FSA) was established to implement the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Tenant Act of 1937. It took over the duties of the U.S. Resettlement Administration, making loans available to tenants and sharecroppers, and operating migrant farm labor camps. After the FSA was abolished in 1946 the U.S. Farmers Home Administration (FHA) continued this work. Records consist of subject files (1928-1956) concerning individual resettlement and irrigation projects in Montana.
Arrangement
Arranged alphebetically by name of project. Some material housed in oversize folder and oversize box. See inventory below for more information.
Physical Location
12:4-1
Physical Location
5:2-5 (oversize box 6)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information available upon request
Separated Materials
Photos separated to Photo Archives. See inventory below.
- Title
- Guide to the U.S. Farm Security Administration records 1928-1956
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by MHS staff
- Date
- 2004
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov