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
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 ArchiveUnited 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.
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.
Organic Roots Digital CollectionUSDA. 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.
