Pennsylvania State Archives
RG-1
Records of the DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The Department of Agriculture was created in 1895 to encourage the development
of agriculture, horticulture, forestry and related industries. A State Board of
Agriculture, which had been established in 1876 to investigate subjects relating
to improvements in agriculture, continued to function along with the Department
in an advisory capacity. Legislation passed in 1919 and 1923 abolished the State
Board of Agriculture, the Agricultural Commission and the Livestock Sanitary Board
and consolidated regulatory activities pertaining to agriculture within the Department.
Functions relating to forestry had been transferred to the Department of Forestry
in 1901.
The Department of Agriculture is responsible for promoting the efficient marketing
of farm products and dealing with appropriate investigatory and service problems.
The Department works to control animal and plant diseases as well as insect
pests, and to safeguard the public against impure or misrepresented foods, fertilizers
and pesticides. The State Farm Products Show Commission and the State Harness
Racing Commission are administrative commissions within the Department of Agriculture.
A More Detailed History of This Department is
available.
- Administrative Correspondence, 1936-1938, 1941-1956, 1958-1971, 1987-1989,
1997-2003. (72 cartons) {#1.1} [Description]
[Holdings]
- Annual Reports, 1877-1991 (not inclusive). (6 boxes) {#1.19} [Description]
[Holdings]
- Correspondence with the Governor and Cabinet Members, 1963-1975. (6 cartons)
{#1.2} [Description] [Holdings]
- Executive Office Correspondence File, 1955-1975. (22 cartons) {#1.3}
[Description] [Holdings]
- Interdepartmental Correspondence File, 1970-1975. (9 cartons) {#1.4}
[Description] [Holdings]
- Press Office Photographs, 1890-2003. (37 cartons, 11 boxes) {#1.5}
[Description] [Holdings]
- Scrapbooks, 1918-1940. (1 microfilm roll) {#1.37} [Description]
[Holdings]
State Conservation Commission
- Annual Reports of the County Soil and Water Conservation District, 1943-1969.
(2 cartons) {#1.15} [Description]
[Holdings]
Last processing update: 3/12/2012, acc. #6205