MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES
Guide to African American History

State Survey Commission

In 1929, the General Assembly passed House Bill 283, providing for a commission to survey and make recommendations regarding the financial and revenue resources for the state. The Commission was also directed to survey the needs of various state departments, public schools, institutes of higher education, and eleemosynary and penal institutions. The legislature appropriated $60,000 for the survey, which was conducted during 1929, with full reports and recommendations submitted to the governor.

This collection of records from the State Survey Commission includes general correspondence (1929-1930), proceedings and minutes of meetings (1929), as well as records and reports from various committees.

An explanation of State Survey Commission activities and brief biographical sketches of its members is available in the Official Manual of the State of Missouri, 1929-1930 (pp. 885-891).

Record Group 440: State Survey Commission: Records of the Higher Education Survey, 1929.

Conditions in various institutes of higher education in Missouri comprise this report. Description of the physical plant, teacher training, and financial reports are included. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Teachers College in St. Louis, a college for training African American teachers, is included in the reports.

Record Group 440: State Survey Commission: Records of the Penal & Eleemosynary Institutions, 1929.

The committees investigated the penal and eleemosynary Institutions (1929) across the state; records in this collection indicate the condition of these institutions, many of which were segregated or designated specifically for African Americans. Conditions of the Missouri State Penitentiary and the Industrial Home for Negro Girls in Tipton are discussed; records of expenditures and other financial information is available.

Record Group 440: State Survey Commission: Records of the Public School Survey, 1929-1930.

This collection includes oversized statistical reports of public schools in Missouri's counties. The records indicate school census, including racial and gender breakdowns, as well as information about teachers, salaries, school funding, and more.