Skip to main content

Federal Resettlement Project oral histories

 Collection
Identifier: UUS_COLL MSS 401

Scope and Contents

This collection contains 11 cassette tapes of oral histories pertaining to the Federal Resettlement Project and the Great Depression in Utah. They were conducted by Brian Cannon for his 1986 book, Remaking the Agrarian Dream: The New Deal's Rural Resettlement Program in the Mountain West. These tapes include interviews about the Green River Drought Pumping Project; resettlement in Benmore, Utah; resettlement in Widtsoe, Utah; and the Leota Bottoms Drought Pumping Project.

Dates

  • 1985-1986

Language of Materials

Material in English

Conditions Governing Access

No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.

Conditions Governing Use

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material from the Federal Resettlement Project oral histories must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archives Department Head.

Biographical Note

Brian Q. Cannon graduated from BYU with a BA in American studies in 1984. He completed an MA in history at Utah State University in 1986 and a PhD in history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992. Since that time, he has been teaching at BYU. Much of his research focuses upon agricultural settlement, rural community development and federal rural policy in the twentieth century. He has received fellowships or other awards from the Western History Association, the Agricultural History Society, the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, the Ford Foundation and the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.

These oral histories are related to the Federal Resettlement Project in Utah, which was part of a broader New Deal resettlement project in the United States during the Great Depression. The program sought to make better use of the nation's natural resources by reassigning poor farmers from marginal to productive land. The undertaking was supervised by various governmental departments including the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Resettlement Administration, and the Farms Security Administration from the 1930s until the early 1940s.

Extent

1 box (0.5 linear feet)

Abstract

This collection contains the interviews of Brian Cannon pertaining to the Federal Resettlement Project and the Great Depression in Utah. Mr. Cannon used the interviews for his 1986 book, Remaking the Agrarian Dream : The New Deal's Rural Resettlement Program in the Mountain West.

Arrangement

This collection is organized alphabetically by last name.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to Utah State University Special Collections and Archives by Bryan Q. Cannon in 1993.

Related Materials

Utah Resettlement Project papers, COLL MSS 146

Processing Information

Processed in October of 2013.

Title
Guide to the Federal Resettlement Project oral histories 1985-1986
Author
Finding aid/Register created by Elisabeth Cropper and Clint Pumphrey
Date
©2013
Description rules
Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid encoded in English.

Revision Statements

  • 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.

Repository Details

Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)