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Historical Resources
- Historical Census Browser
From the University of Virginia Libraries, this site provides access to data "drawn directly from historical volumes of the U.S. Census of Population and Housing." Allows you to examine state and county topics for individual census years or over time; produce tables of data by state or county; and sort data by selected categories. Maps can also be generated for selected data.
Data available from 1790 - 1960. Topics include education and literacy; agriculture; slave population; ethnicity/race; and the economy.
- Statistical Abstract - Earlier Editions
Summarizes statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. This site provides PDF versions of the publication from 1878 - 2012.
- Historical Statistics on Banking
From the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, this site provides access to Commercial Bank reports. National aggregates are available from 1934 to present, and state aggregates from 1966 to present. Also has failures & assistance transactions from 1934 to present and reports from savings institutions from 1984 to present.
- Historical Statistics of the United States
This extraordinary database contains over 37,000 data sets, fully searchable and customizable. Retrieved tables can be downloaded as Excel or PDF files, printed and graphed. Date of coverage varies, but many tables include data from 1790 to 2000.
Also available in print.
- International Historical Statistics, 1750-2010
3-volume set. The most authoritative collection of statistics available. Updated to 2010 wherever possible, it provides key economic and social indicators for the last 260 years, serving as an essential reference source. Includes a section on America.
- Complete Descriptive and Statistical Gazetteer of the United States of America 1840. AW1.R-5346 N.33167.13 (microform)
Originally published in book format in 1843 and contains "a particular description of the states, territories, counties, districts, parishes, cities, towns, and villages--mountains, rivers, lakes, canals, and railroads; with an abstract of the census and statistics for 1840, exhibiting a complete view of the agricultural, commercial, manufacturing; and literary condition and resources of the country."
Microformed as part of the Goldsmith's-Kress Library of Economic Literature.
- Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts
Contains historical census reports in PDF for 1790-1860, 1990, and 2000, among other resources.
- United States Decennial Census Publications. AW1.R7358 (microform)
This microform collection includes United States census documents and publications on population, manufacturing and vital statistics.
- Note: UBC Library only has the reels for the years from 1790 - 1850 for population; 1810 - 1860 for manufacturing; and 1850 - 1880 for vital statistics.
- The Library has the majority of later censuses in print. These can be found in the Library catalogue by searching for the specific census and year that you require.
- The Library does not have an index for these reels, but the Bureau of the Census Catalog of Publications, 1790 - 1972 lists all the publications issued by the Bureau from 1790 - 1972 and can act as a quasi-index to this collection.
- Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000
From the US Census Bureau, this publication contains the questionnaires and instructions from 1790-2000. Also includes finding guides to the 1840, 1885 and 1890 Censuses, as well as individual histories for all the censuses included in this publication.
Note: while this publication provides essential historical background it does not include any of the data that was collected in these censuses. Digital access to the print census volumes for decennial censuses between 1790 and 2000 is available through the US Census Bureau on the Census of Population & Housing page.