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Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 from the Twenty

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Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 from the Twenty Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 From the Twenty.. one Decennial Censuses March 1996 u.s DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF THE CENSUS Martha Farnsworth Riche, Director Bryant Benton, Deputy Director Paula J. Schneider, Principal Associate Director for Programs POPULATION DIVISION Arthur J. Norton, Chief Compiled and edited by Richard l. Forstall For ,ale by the t.: .5. Govemment Printing Office Superintendent or Document>. Mail Stop: SSOP. Washington. DC 20402·9328 REPRODUCED BY: NB"IS. u.s. Oepartment of Cotntnerce-.­ Nataonal Technicaflnformalion Servjee $pnngliold. Vorgm;. 22161 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The editor acknowledges with thanks the contribution of many Census Bureau staff members in bringing this publication to completion. Special thanks are due to Clarissa Edwards, Joyce Williams, Nina Gressens, Gayle Hubbard, and Tracy Merriman for compilation and checking; Marie Pees, Elizabeth Newman, and Kathleen Morris for computer processing; Edwin Byerly and Donald Dahmann for production supervision; and Campbell Gibson, Ray Bancroft, and John Long for their editorial suggestions and their strong support for the project. The contribution of Edward Lehmann of the National Technical Information Service also is acknowledged with appreciation. Corrections or suggestions for this publication are welcome. They should be directed to Chief, Population Distribution Branch, Population Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. Suggested Citation Forstall, Richard L., Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC, 1996. International Standard Book Number ISBN 0-934213-48-8 Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990 is for sale by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161; (703) 487-4650. Price $35 plus handling, refer to order number PB96-119060. Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990. Electronic Version is available as a text file that can be read by popular microcomputer spreadsheet programs. Price $35 plus handling, refer to order number PB96-500525. ii CONTENTS Part I. Introduction and General Explanation •..•••••••••..•.•••.•.•.........••..••••..•....•................................. iv Sources of Population Data .......................................................................................................... iv Corrected Census Counts ..............................................................................................................v U.S. Total Population .....................................................................................................................v American Indian Population .......................................................................................................... vi State History ................................................................................................................................. vi State Total Populations ................................................................................................................ vi Census Coverage .........................................................................................................................vii Census Dates .......................................................................................................; .......................vii Notes Giving Historical Information on Individual Counties ............................................................vii Dates of First Census and of Last Significant Boundary Change .................................................. viii Number of Counties and Other State Subdivisions ....................................................................... ix County Codes ............................................................................................................................... ix Part II. Population of the United States and Each State: 1790-1990 ..............................................1 Part III. Population of Counties, Earliest Census to 1990 ...............................................................7 Part IV. Historical Dates and Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Codes.............. 189 iii Part I. Introduction and General Explanation This publication provides the populations of States and their' counties according to the twenty-one decennial U.S. censuses conducted from 1790 to 1990. This is the first time in almost 100 years that data for counties back to 1790 have appeared in a census publication. The taking of a census every 10 years is mandated in Article 1. Section 2 of the United States Constitution, to ensure that the States will elect representatives to Congress in proportion to their population. The United States was one of the first countries in the world to conduct a regular census. There are four parts to this publication. Part I provides an introduction and explanation of the information contained in the report. Part II is a single table giving the populations of States, for the censuses taken since they were established as Territories or States. So far as possible the States are shown in their present-day boundaries. If the State or its predecessor Territory had a different geographic extent at a census, a note in Part III explains the difference. Part III consists of tables for each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, with populations for counties or equivalent areas at each census. In these State tables, after the last column of populations a Notes column provides information on the Origin of each county, other names it has had, etc. If this information is too extensive to fit here, the Notes column refers to a numbered footnote. which appears below the table for the State. Following the population tables, Part IV gives for each State the date of the first census for each county. the date of the census since which the county has not had any significant alterations in boundaries, and the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code for the county. Sources of Population Data The populations in this publication essentially are those reported in each census, except that misprints and other errors made in the original census publications have been corrected. Such errors were fairty frequent in the earty censuses, often resulting from mistakes made in adding up the various categories of population for a given county, or in totaling the counties of a State. Most such errors were corrected at the time of the 1870 census, when the earlier published tables were reviewed and their addition rechecked (Census Office, 9th Census, 1870, Vol. /, The Statistics of the Population. .. (Washington, 1872), pp. xliv-xlvii). Generally the State populations that now appear for 1790-1860 in official publications are those settled upon in 1870. Some exceptions and unusual situations are mentioned in footnotes. Tables showing county populations back to 1790 appeared in the decennial census publications for 1830 and for 1870 through 1900. The 1910 census, however, showed county populations only back to 1890. In 1920 a table gave county populations back to 1850. The 1930 report, in separate State tables, carried the data back to 1890; 1940 and 1950 each gave only two previous censuses, and 1960 and 1970 each gave one. In 1980, a county table for each State gave populations from 1930 on. In 1990, besides a county table for each State with populations from 1940 on, a single U.S. table (1990 CPH-2-1, table 20) likewise presented 1940-1990 county populations. In this publication, nearty all populations for counties from 1790 through 1900 agree with those published in the 1900 census (Census Office, 12th Census, 1900, Census reports. ••• Vo!.I, pt. I (Washington, 1901), table 4). In a few cases, decennial numbers for counties and States have been changed from those shown in earlier publications on the baSis of new information or to enhance consistency of treatment across all States. Generally such changes are mentioned in footnotes. For a bibliography of all U.S. census publications through 1945, see U.S. Bureau of the Census, Catalog of United States Census Publications 1790-1945. by Henry J. Dubester (Washington, 1950). This was reprinted as part of Bureau of the Census Catalog of Publications 1790-1972 (Washington, June 1974), which also included publications of the 1950, 1960, and 1970 censuses. Publications of the 1980 and 1990 censuses are included in Census Catalog and Guide, issued annually with cumulations for 1980-84 in the 1984 catalog, and for 1990-94 in the 1994 catalog. Corrected Census Counts The misprints and computational errors referred to in the previous section should be distinguished from corrections made after the actual census counts were completed and tabulated. Prior to 1960, census reports only rarely made corrections of counts from earlier censuses. Beginning in the 1970s there was a great expansion in the use of census totals for distributing revenue to individual communities, and as a matter of policy the Census Bureau began to publish even very small corrections. These corrections made after census tabulations were completed are not reflected in this publication. iv Part I. Introduction and General Explanation The majority of corrections were made after local information demonstrated that a municipal or county boundary had not been accurately reflected, so that some persons counted in the census had been credited to the wrong
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