Agriculture has always played a central role in American and world history. These resources reflect that prominence as they address events significant to the development of ancient and modern agricultural practices, crops, technology, and agrarian life.
History, Art and Biography
| Spotlights |
National Agricultural Library Timeline
USDA. National Agricultural Library.
Brief overview of NAL's long history of service to USDA and the general public. Listed items focus on notable firsts and public services and partnerships that continue into the present.
Learn about Hispanic Americans in Agriculture
for Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 - October 15.
Abraham Lincoln and Agriculture
USDA. National Agricultural Library.
Reviews Lincoln's early years as a farmer and his significant impact on U.S. agriculture, including the establishment of the USDA and the beginnings of the National Agricultural Library. Also includes various full text documents and agricultural Acts from the 1860s.
USDA Census of Agriculture Historical Archive
United States Department of Agriculture.
A collaborative project between USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the Albert R. Mann Library at Cornell University, this archive currently contains Census of Agriculture information from 1925 through 1987, with information back to 1840 to be added. A list of past Census years and links to their data are on the NASS Historical Census Publications page.
School Gardening in the Early 1900s
Michigan State University Libraries.
View digitized primary sources from the early 20th century through World War II about gardens in schools and organizations involved in encouraging such projects.
Organic Roots Digital Collection
USDA. National Agricultural Library.
View our electronic collection of historic documents published before 1942 – a time before synthetic chemicals became widely used – containing state-of-the-art information and data that are still very pertinent for today's organic and sustainable agriculture.
Charles Valentine Riley Collection
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Guide to a collection containing correspondence, reports, photographs, and drawings by Charles Valentine Riley, Chief of the Federal Entomological Service in the 1880s.
USDA 150th anniversary commemorative note cards
USDA. NAL. Special Collections.
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of USDA with commemorative note cards. Featuring black-and-white or colored photographic images of historic USDA buildings and grounds, these cards will add vintage flair to your handwritten notes.
About NASS: History and Procedures
USDA. National Agricultural Statistics Service.
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) presents information about the history of agricultural statistics and agricultural estimates in the U.S. in the "History and Procedures" section of the page. Linked resources include a timeline, a video, and historical information about the founding and evolution of NASS.
