Inventory of the North Carolina Soil Surveys Collection, 1906 – 1953

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Soil surveys were first authorized in the United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1896, and field investigations and soil mapping began in several states 1899. In North Carolina the soil survey work was done by the Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. These surveys included maps, along with descriptions and information about local soils as well as the general nature and agricultural conditions of the area.

This collection includes surveys from thirty North Carolina counties from the first half of the twentieth century as well as maps from several additional counties. The surveys include maps, detailed description of the area, climate, agricultural land use history, as well as in-depth information on the different soil types found in each county.

Title: North Carolina Soil Surveys Collection, 1906 - 1953

Creator: North Carolina Department of Agriculture

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 2016-002

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 1.0 linear ft. (1 record carton)

 

Historical Note

Soil surveys were first authorized in the United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1896. Field investigations and soil mapping began in several states in 1899. In the years to follow soil surveys throughout the country were initiated, completed, and published cooperatively by the Department of Agriculture, State agencies, and other Federal agencies. The total effort is the National Cooperative Soil Survey (NCSS). In North Carolina this survey work was done in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. These surveys included maps, along with descriptions and information about local soils as well as the general nature and agricultural conditions of the area.

 

Collection Overview

This collection includes surveys from thirty North Carolina counties from the first half of the twentieth century as well as maps from several additional counties. The surveys include maps, detailed description of the area, climate, agricultural land use history, as well as in-depth information on the different soil types found in each county.

Collection Arrangement

  1. County Soil Surveys
  2. Additional Maps
  3. Photographs

Subject Headings

  • North Carolina.
  • Soil surveys.
  • Soil surveys -- North Carolina.
  • Soils.
  • Soils -- North Carolina.
  • Soils -- North Carolina -- Maps.

 

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. County Soil Surveys, 1906-1953.

Bound soil surveys issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Soils in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Surveys include maps, detailed descriptions of area, climate, agriculture, and different soil types.

  • Alleghany County, issued 1917
  • Beaufort County, issued 1919
  • Brunswick County, Series 1932, No. 17, issued 1937
  • Burke County, Series 1926, No. 22
  • Caldwell County, issued 1919
  • Clay County, Series 1935, No. 19, issued 1941
  • Davie County, Series 1927, No. 5
  • Franklin County, Series 1931, No. 21
  • Graham County, Series 1942, No. 1, issued 1953
  • Haywood County, issued 1925
  • Henderson County, Series 1937, No. 9, issued 1943
  • Hertford County, issued 1917 [2 copies]
  • Hoke County, issued 1921 [2 copies]
  • Lenoir County, Series 1927, No. 2
  • Macon County, Series 1944, No. 6
  • Martin County, Series 1928, No. 8
  • New Hanover County, 1906 (Issued February 21, 1907)
  • Northampton County, Series 1925, No. 9
  • Onslow County, 1923
  • Orange County, 1921 [3 copies]
  • Pamlico County, Series 1934, No. 2, issued 1937 [2 copies]
  • Pender County, [1912]
  • Person County, Series 1928, No. 14 [3 copies]
  • Polk County, Series 1923, No. 12, issued 1928 [2 copies]
  • Rockingham County, Series 1926, No. 7 [2 copies]
  • Rutherford County, Series 1924, No. 5, issued 1928
  • Surry County, Series 1932, No. 20, issued 1937
  • Warren County, Series 1938, No 2, issued 1942
  • Wilkes County, issued 1921 [4 copies]
  • Wilson County, Series 1925, No. 10
  • Soil Survey from Raleigh to Newbern, N.C. by William G. Smith
  • A Preliminary Report on the Mountain Soils; The Bulletin of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, Vol. 32, No. 5, May 1911
  • County Soil Report, No. 1: Report on Mecklenburg County Soils, Agriculture and Industries; The Bulletin of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, Raleigh, Vol. 38, No. 4, April 1917
2. Additional Maps.
  • Bertie County
  • Bladen County
  • Mitchell County
  • New Hanover County
  • Richmond County
  • Robeson County
  • Rockingham County
  • Vance County
  • Wilkes County
  • Clayton Sheet
  • Princeton Sheet
  • Reconnaissance Erosion Survey of the State of North Carolina
3. Photographs.
  • Three framed photos of unidentified men involved in soil survey work.

 

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], North Carolina Soil Surveys Collection, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Gene Crabtree in September 2016

Processing Information

Processed by Staff, October 2016

Encoded by Eben Lehman, November 2016

Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.

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