Why choose the 1927 Census?

The 1927 Pennsylvania Triennial Census data provides a rare resource of primary data for Pennsylvania farms in the early 20th century. No federal agricultural census material exists in manuscript form from 1890-1940 (census returns were accidentally or deliberately destroyed for these decades). Consequently, historians of agriculture are handicapped in developing a picture of early 20th century agriculture in the United States. Only a few states conducted surveys or any sort of data collection for the early 20th century. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania collected data twice—in 1924 and 1927. The 1927 census includes more fields and information about households and modern technology not gathered in the 1924 census.

Where can I look at the original documents from which this data was drawn?

The State Archives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, houses these census records. They are located in Record Group 1, (The Department of Agriculture) Records of the Division of Crop Reporting, 1924-1928. Visit the State Archives for more information.

1927 Pennsylvania Aggregate Agricultural Census Data by Municipality (choose county from below)

Note: These files are in Adobe PDF format and require the Adobe Acrobat reader to be viewed and printed. The software is available free of charge from Adobe.

1927 Pennsylvania Aggregate Agricultural Census Data by County