United States Post Office Department Topographer Search this
Type:
Mixed archival materials
Date:
1873
1873-1882
circa 1873-1882
Category:
Agency History
Notes:
This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, 1882
Guide to the Smithsonian Archives, 1996
Beginning about 1873, the Smithsonian Institution and the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey cooperated in collecting information about relative elevations of the surface of the North American continent. This information was intended to serve as the basis for a contour map of the continent. In 1882 the Smithsonian withdrew from the project and transferred the project to the Survey.
W. L. Nicholson, topographer of the United States Post Office Department, coordinated this project on a volunteer basis until it was ended.
For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.
Repository Loc.:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520
