Today’s post comes from James Zeender, Senior Registrar at the National Archives. On October 25, “The Louisiana Purchase: Making St. Louis, Remaking America” opened in St. Louis. The Missouri History Museum and the National Archives partnered to organize the exhibition, which features the original Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803, on loan from the National Archives. … Continue reading The Louisiana Purchase Treaty on display in St. Louis
Wow--what a year! Our editorial panel tried to limit this list to ten, but eventually we gave up and picked 14 instead. (For more great National Archives moments, check on out the Top 10 Innovative Moments of 2013.) We also want to send a big thank you to the staff members of the National Archives across … Continue reading Top 14 Moments at the National Archives in 2013
Today’s post comes from Sara Holmes, supervisory preservation specialist at the National Archives in St. Louis. Just before 9 a.m. on the morning of July 16, 1973, the fire that had raged over five days was declared out. The firemen’s command post was taken down; engines cleared the scene; and 9700 Page Avenue—home of the … Continue reading After the fire: Peter Waters helps save water-damaged records
Today’s post comes from Sara Holmes, supervisory preservation specialist at the National Archives in St. Louis. (The images below are from the National Archives at St. Louis, with a special thank you to Capt. Dave Dubowski of the Spanish Lake Fire Department and the late Chief Bob Palmer of Mehlville Fire Department.) What happened after … Continue reading One fire, 5 days, and 381 men
Over 5,000 requests for veterans' military personnel records are received every day at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO. Donna Judd spends each day carefully searching for valuable information for veterans in the documents left burned and brittle by the 1973 fire at the NPRC building. She looks for separation documents … Continue reading Burned and brittle records are in good hands
This blog post is condensed from the article “Burnt in Memory,” by Marta G. O’Neill and William Seibert, from the Spring 2013 issue of Prologue. By the time it was daylight on July 12, 1973, at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, one thing was painfully clear: the loss of records to … Continue reading Burnt in memory: Looking back at the 1973 St. Louis fire
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2013 Research Fellowships! Fellows will be doing research at six of our archival facilities across the country. These fellowships are funded by the Foundation for the National Archives. The National Archives at Boston Claire M. Dunning, a graduate student at Harvard University, will be doing research for "Neither Public Nor … Continue reading Congratulations to our 2013 Research Fellows!
Today's blog post in honor of Memorial Day comes from Michael Pierce, preservation technician at the National Archives at Saint Louis. It’s called “the Forgotten War.” But like any conflict, the Korean War is always remembered by the men and women who fought in it, and by their families. The Preservation Lab at St. Louis … Continue reading It’s why I do what I do
If you have served in the military or worked for the Federal Government, your personnel file is held at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. More than 34 million files are held in this facility, filling 2.3 million cubic feet of records on 385,000 shelves. There are 6.2 billion feet of … Continue reading Archives Spotlight: National Personnel Records Center
Do sideburns set your heart aflutter? It's been 35 years since Elvis Presley died, but judging from the media coverage and chatter on Twitter with #ElvisWeek, his fan base is still enthusiastic. But the some of the most passionate fan letters about the bewhiskered singer can be found in the National Archives. In 1958, Linda … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Presley, Presley is our cry!
