The records described in this finding aid comprise four different series in the Archives:
- Series 1955, Project Material, 1929-1941, 1947. 0.8 cubic feet (1 archives box and 1 flat box)
- Series 1956, Field Maps, 1928-1938. 27.6 cubic feet (68 archives boxes, 1 flat box)
- Series 1958, Small Scale Land Cover Maps, circa 1932-1944. 1.2 cubic feet (3 archives boxes) and 2 reels of microfilm (35 mm)
- Series 1959, Large Scale Land Cover Maps, circa 1930s-1940s. 6.0 cubic feet
Series 1955, Project Material, 1929-1941, 1947, arranged by subject, consists of typewritten articles, most undated and unsigned but some written by John Bordner and William W. Morris, about the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory, the condition of the land surveyed, and historical background; field notes arranged alphabetically by county; miscellaneous long-hand drafts of articles and letters, 1947; pie charts, 1938-1939, arranged alphabetically by county, showing classification in percentages of total area, agricultural land, marshland and water, forest cover, woodlands according to type, and possible area for reforestation; bar graphs, interfiled with the pie charts, showing number of miles of roads, railroads, and power and telephone lines; maps, 1936-1939 and undated, for several counties, most showing game count and one map each showing watershed and roads; and photographs which both supplement the field and land cover maps by showing the land surveyed and also document the Land Economic Inventory itself by showing the men as they mapped the land. The photographs have been transferred to the Historical Society's Iconographic section and the maps have been transferred to the Map section. No contents list exists for this series.
Series 1956, Field Maps, 1928-1938, arranged alphabetically by county and thereunder by township, range, and section, consists of hand-drawn maps for 70 counties (excluding Milwaukee county) showing land and forest cover, soil types, streams and lakes, animal tally, highways, improvements, and miscellaneous items such as erosion, gravel pits, orchards, fur farms, beaver dams, logging camps, cemeteries, abandoned railroads, drainage ditches, bogs, and bathing beaches. Summary sheets at the end of each county give land classification in acres by sections and types of land cover, and there are positive and negative photostats of an all-county summary showing totals of homes and businesses, highways and roads, utilities, drainage facilities, fire lanes, cleared agricultural land, marshlands, water, special usage, woodlands, and potential forest land. These maps were compiled as the field workers crossed the land, and they are unlike Series 1958 or 1959 because the field workers have mapped individual sections or groups of sections instead of the entire township. Milwaukee County was not mapped. Land in Menominee County, established in 1961, is included as part of Langlade, Oconto, and Shawano Counties. See the Contents List portion of this finding aid for further details.
Series 1958, Small Scale Land Cover Maps, circa 1932-1944, arranged by county and thereunder by township and range and dating mostly from 1939, consists of printed maps compiled from the original survey plats and field notes (see Series 698 and 701), aerial photographs, and the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory Field Maps (Series 1956), showing land and forest cover, soil types, streams and lakes, animal tally, highways, improvements, and miscellaneous items. These maps are not as detailed as those in Series 1956 since entire townships are mapped instead of individual sections. Some of the county maps have explanatory notes and data added as late as the 1950s, after the Land Economic Inventory had ended. This series has been transferred to the Map section. Milwaukee County was not mapped, and maps for Lincoln, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan counties were not published. Land in Menominee County, established in 1961, is included as part of Langlade, Oconto, and Shawano Counties. A digitized version of the contents of Series 1958 prepared by the University of Wisconsin is available. See the Contents List portion of this finding aid for further details.
Series 1959, Large Scale Land Cover Maps, circa 1930s-1940s, arranged by county and thereunder by township and range, show land and forest cover, soil types, streams and lakes, animal tally, highways, improvements, and miscellaneous items. Although these maps are not dated, they apparently were compiled after the small scale maps, which had been verified by aerial photographs, and the corrections resulted in these maps. Drawn on a scale of four inches to the mile and showing more detail than those in Series 1958 but less than those in Series 1956, the maps are oversize and have been transferred to the Map section. No contents list exists for this series.
