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The Historical Records Survey was created to inventory all county government records of each county in the United States. It was started in January 1936 as a part of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration, one of the many government sponsored projects created to provide employment during the Depression.

        The survey had two purposes: to list manuscripts, church records, and public records in county offices in a reference volume for the use of county officials and the general public, and to locate, classify, and catalog all extant county and city records to make them more easily accessible to county officials, historians, and research workers.

The Counties series is the largest series and includes forms, essays, maps, photographs, newspapers, and floor plans produced during the survey. Remember that the survey only surveyed existing records and did not collect them. The survey is a "snapshot" of what records existed and where they were stored during the late 1930s. Perhaps the most valuable part of the Counties series is the verbatim transcription of the county court record.

        This series is arranged alphabetically by county. Each county is further subdivided into some or all of the following categories: buildings, church records, city records, county office records, general information, laws, lists, manuscripts, newspapers, paintings and statuary, maps and photographs, floor plans, publications, township records, and transcription of county court records.

These records are available at:

Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia
23 Ellis Library
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65201-5149

. 2264-2352 Audrain County, organized in 1836. County seat is Mexico.
f. 2264-2265 Buildings
f. 2266-2287 Churches
f. 2288-2289 City Records
f. 2290-2310 County Offices
f. 2290 Assessor
f. 2291-2292 Circuit Clerk and Court
f. 2293-2294 Collector
f. 2295-2300 County Clerk and Court
f. 2301 Farm Bureau
f. 2302-2303 Probate Court
f. 2304-2305 Recorder
f. 2306 Registrar
f. 2307 Sheriff
f. 2308 Superintendent of Schools
f. 2309 Surveyor
f. 2310 Treasurer
f. 2311-2325 General Information
f. 2326 Laws
f. 2327-2330 Lists
f. 2331 Manuscripts, Newspapers, Paintings and Statuary
f. 2332-2334 Maps, Photographs and Floor Plans
f. 2335 Publications: Audrain County Farm and Business Directory, 1939
f. 2336-2352 transcription of County Court Record, 1837-1843