Inventory of the county archives of Texas : Marion County, no. 158 Page: 3

                                
F 0 R KE W 0 Rk D
The Inventors of the Clontv Archives of Texas is one of a number of
bibliographies of historical materials prepared throughout the United
States by workers on the Historical Records Survey Program, of the 1Work
Projects Administration. The publication herewith presented, an inventory
of the archives of Marion County, is number 158 of the Texas
series of counties,
The Historical Records Survey Progrmn was undertaken in the winter
of 1935-36 for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unemployed
historians, lawvyrs, teachers, and research and clerical workers.
In carrying out this objective, the project was organized to compile inventories
of historical. materials, particularly the unpublished government
documents and records which are basic in the administration of local
government, and which provide invaluable data for students of political,
economic, and social history. The archival guide herewith presented is
intended to meet the requirements of dtay-to-day administration by the officials
of the county, and also th;e needs of lawyers, business men and
other citizens who require facts from the public records for the proper
conduct of their affairs. Tihe volume is so designed that it can be used
by the historian in his research in unprinted sources in the same wJay he
uses the library card catalog for printed sources.
The inventories produced by the  historical Records Survey Program
attempt to do more than give merely a list of records--thpy attempt
further to sketch in the historical background of the county or other
unit of government, and to describe precisely and in detail the organization
and functions of the government agencies whose records they list.
The county, town, and other local inventories for the entire state will,
when completed, constitute an encyclopedia of local government as well
as a bibliography of local archives.
The successful conclusion of the work of the Historical Records
Survey Program, even in a single county, would not be possible without
the support of public officials, historical and legal specialists, and
many other groups in the community. Their cooperation is gratefully
acknowledged.
The Survey Program was organized and has been directed by Luther H.
Evans, and operates as a nation-wide series of locally sponsored projects
in the Division of Professional and Service Projects, of which Mrs.
Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner, is in charge.
F. C. HiJmPI1GTrON
Commiss i oner