Ten reels of film in this collection contain the compiled inventories for the city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The inventories for Cape Girardeau are divided into nine units, listed below, and comprise 1,205 folders of material. A detailed description of the various inventory forms and records categories, copied from the microfilm, follows this note. Forms, essays, maps, photographs, newspapers, and floor plans. The greater portion of the material consists of forms. There are 114 subcategories, one for each county. Each county is further subdivided into: buildings, church records, city records, county office records, general information, laws, lists, manuscripts, newspapers, paintings and statuary, maps and photographs, floor plans, publications, township records, and transcription of county court records. The forms are of several types: unbound record, building, volume, church record, manuscript collection, individual manuscript, deed record, maps and photographs, newspaper, paintings and statuary, and the printed record form. The building form contains name of building, bureaus whose records are in the building, room and vault names or numbers, and location, description of the building, damage to building, approximate percent of records contained in fireproof vaults, ownership of the building, rental paid, land, and other pertinent information. The church records form asks name of church, denomination, date organized, information of previous building, first settled clergyman (tenure, educational background), minute books, registers, record books, financial records, unpublished historical records, published histories, and other records and information pertaining to the church. The deed records form asks name, address, and denomination of the church, title of record, volume and page number, kind and date of deed, dated deed was filed, name of grants or grantees, and legal description of the property. The unbound records form asks the name of the agency or department, bureau, exact title, dates, total numbers, numbering, and lettering of file boxes and bundles by uniform group, type of records, indexing, condition of writing, paper and containers, location by dates and number of file boxes. The volume form asks the agency of department, bureau, exact title, dates, total volumes, volume numbering or lettering by years, missing volumes by number and dates, exact description of contents, summary of forms used, general remarks, indexing, nature of recording by years, condition of building, writing and paper, size, location by dates and volume number and other pertinent information. The manuscript form asks the manuscript depository; name of collection; earliest, latest, and most important dates of the material; quantity, location and physical condition of collection; reason for importance; identification of principal person; history; gaps in the collection; condition of access; percentage arranged; number of catalog cards; description of catalog cards; and list of keys to the collection if part of the collection is not in the original manuscript. The individual manuscript form asks the name of the owner or holder, address, date or writing, author, identification of author, place manuscript was written, type of manuscript, person to whom addressed, identification of addressee, place to which addressed, content, authorship symbol, language, number and size of pages, library card number, nature of recording, if original copy is part to a collection by which the collection is known, seal, description of seal, enclosures, restriction on use of manuscript, and other general pertinent information. The maps and photographs form asks the agency or department’ bureau; name of owner; name of building; item or items; area covers; title or subject; number of items; dates and sizes; whether printed, engraved, black and white, colored, blueprint, Photostat, mounted, framed relief, or shaded; the scale and type; condition of writing, paper and film; the artist, author, publisher or engraver; place of publication, location; and other information. The newspaper form asks name of paper, name of owners, name of building, location, place of publication, frequently and date of publication, dates covered by holding, dates for which bound, dates for which unbound but arranged, dates for loose, merged with or succeeded by whom, and date of successor, location by year, and other information. The printed records form asks name of county and city, agency, bureau, title of set of records in which publication appears, title of publication, dates, total columns, and column numbering or letter, missing columns by number and dates, average number of pages per volume, average weight, width and thickness of volumes, indexing, condition of printing, paper and binding, location by dates ad column number, major subjects covered, and other information. The paintings and statuary form asks name of county, city agency, bureau, other owner, building, item or items, title or subject, number of items, their dates and sizes, material, condition of work, artist, location, and other information. In the buildings category there are forms on the buildings and office wherein the records of the county are contained. There may also be information on housing and care of records. The church records category contains the church records form, the deed record form, building forms for individual churches and cemeteries, corrections sheets, lists for pastors, lists of dates of the organization of early churches, active or defunct. The city records category consists of columns and unbound records forms and building forms. In those counties which have a city records division, the formats are for the most part of the records of city clerk, city assessor, city collection, and city police judge. This is not true of St. Louis County, which has a large number of city offices and formation for the records thereof. County office records are divided into assessor, auditor, board of equalization, circuit clerk and court, city clerk, collection, commodity clerk and warehouse, common pleas court, comptroller, conservation commission, coroner, county clerk and court, county farm, court of appeals, deputy state commissioner of health, detention home, drainage engineer, election board and commissioner, engineer, farm bureau, farm security administration, highway department, highway engineer, home economics, isolation hospital, justice of the peace, jury room, juvenile court, marshal, nurse, old age assistance, physician, probate court, prosecuting attorney, public administrator, public welfare, purchasing agent, recorder, register, road overseers, school commission, school district court, selective service board, sheriff, social security, special law and equity court, state auditor, superintendent of schools, supervisor of roads, surveyor, township clerk, township collection, township constable, township trustees, treasurer, trustees, U.S. district court, welfare board, and WPA. These records may be essays describing the individual offices. The general information category contains general descriptions of the county, lists of names of towns, bibliographies, lists of county newspapers, answers to county history questions, essays on topography, climate, geography, county government and offices, paleontology, geology, archaeology, early settlement, population, growth, development, ethnology, particular things in the counties such as parks and statues, relation of the county to national and state political systems; county government, folklore, clubs, highways, cities, points of interest, radio activity, manufactures, public utilities, union labor and labor conditions, history of the courthouse, county history, railroads, banks, county organization, schools, county participation in the Civil War, and lists of early county officials. The category of laws contains lists of Missouri laws affecting each office of county government. The date the law was approved and the date from which it became effective are given, as well as page and section numbers. Lists of laws referring to towns and cities, boundaries, territory attached, congressional apportionment, roads and bridges, academies, schools, agriculture, trespass, internal improvement fund, and the seat of justice. The subcategory of lists consists of lists of records, each entry giving type, name, date of record, whether the record is in file boxes or in volumes. Ordinarily there is a list of the records for each of the county offices. At the beginning of the list the location of the records is given. The manuscripts, newspapers, and painting and statuary categories consist of manuscript collection forms, individual manuscript forms, newspaper forms, paintings and statuary forms, volume forms, printed records forms, and newspapers and newspaper clippings. The maps, photographs, and floor plans subcategory consists of map and photograph forms, floor plan drawings, maps, photographs and measurements of the offices. There is frequently material on housing and care of records. The publications subcategory usually consists of one volume, Inventory of the County Archives…….County, Missouri. Occasionally such publications as city directories are included. The township record subcategory is found in very few counties. When it is found, it consists of volume forms and unbound record forms covering the records of the clerk and ex-officio assessor. The transcription of county court records subcategory consists of a verbatim copy of the county court record from the first column down to 1878. Many county transcriptions stopped before 1878 because WPA funding ended. Inclusive dates for each transcription are listed on the individual county shelf cards. The records have been arranged so that they read in the same sequence as the original volumes rather than in order of transcription. There are some gaps in the records either because of the original was destroyed or the transcription of the original is missing. There’s gaps are identified by inclusive dates on the individual county shelf cards.