Bunker Hill Refrain

WPA Household Census Cards Collection

The Works Progress Administration Los Angeles Household Census Cards collection dates from 1939. The physical cards, which number nearly half a million items, are housed in Special Collections at the University of Southern California Libraries, which since the 1970s has been documenting the rich and diverse histories of the Southern California region. More than a quarter of the collection has been digitized and is accessible online at the USC Digital Library. Three types of card are present: dwelling schedules (also known as "census cards"), block face cards, block lists. This project is looking at the dwelling schedules.

The household survey cards (or "dwelling schedules"), one for each street address in greater Los Angeles, document a wide variety of information ranging from the type of dwelling, the value of the property, the monthly rent or mortgage, to whether or not there were flush toilets. While these cards form the bulk of the collection, other digitized documents include "block face cards" and "block lists" -- documenting the census process -- as well as employee records which provide a fascinating view of the background and skills of the census takers themselves.

More information about this collection can be found through the USC Libraries:
Digitized cards available through the USC Digital Library - [http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll8].
Finding aid for the Household Survey Card records - [https://archives.usc.edu/repositories/3/resources/232].

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We welcome the involvement of educators in the Bunker Hill Refrain project. Please feel free to reach out through the “Talk” function for more information. In the next few months, we plan to add resources, including lesson plans and activities that may be useful.