US Census Bureau
Skip top of page navigation

PeopleBusinessGeographyNewsroomSubjects A to Z Search@Census

Newsroom
Skip this top of page navigation
US Census Bureau Newsroom masthead
 

CB02-FF.05

March 5, 2002

Quotes & Sound Bites
Full Feature Article
Photos


100 Years and Counting --

Census Bureau Celebrates Centennial


Pioneer and Innovator

UNIVAC I
As a pioneer in data processing, the Census Bureau in 1951 made the leap from punch card machines to the vacuum tubes, blinking lights and whirring sounds of UNIVAC I, or Universal Automatic Computer. UNIVAC I, the first electronic computer used by a civilian government agency, helped process the 1950 census. It also ushered in the computer era.

FOSDIC
In the early 1950s, to speed up questionnaire processing, the Census Bureau and the National Bureau of Standards developed the Film Optical Sensing Device for Input into Computers (FOSDIC) systems to read the darkened little circles on microfilm of completed census questionnaires. In Census 2000, a highly sophisticated, decentralized optical data-capture system achieved a 99-percent accuracy rate in record time.

Census of Manufactures
The first census to be taken separately from the decennial population census in 1905. Censuses covering retail and wholesale trade and construction industries were added in 1930, the service trades in 1933. The 1954 Economic Census marked the first time the various economic censuses were integrated, providing comparable data across economic sectors. Between 1967 and 1992, the range of industries covered in the economic censuses expanded.

Current Population Survey
The Current Population Survey (CPS) originated as the Work Projects Administration's (WPA) Sample Survey of Unemployment in 1940 and was the first attempt to measure unemployment in the United States on a continuing basis. The Census Bureau took over the 20,000-household survey in 1942 (when the WPA was abolished) and retitled it the Monthly Report on the Labor Force. Refined and enlarged several times since then and given its current name in 1947, the survey's focus changed from unemployment in the final Depression years to employment following World War II. Today, the CPS is probably the best known and most widely used of all continuing federal household surveys.

TIGER system
During the 1980s, the bureau developed the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) system to meet the geographic needs of the agency's census and household survey programs.

Through the Years

March 6, 1902
Congress established a permanent "Census Office" March 6, 1902 in the Interior Department. Its mission: to carry out a continuing program of censuses and other data collection activities. Four months later, about 900 workers, who were wrapping up the 1900 census in a nondescript building near the U.S. Capitol, became permanent federal employees.

1903
This was the year in which the Bureau of the Census was transferred to the new Department of Commerce and Labor. In 1913, when the Labor Department split off from Commerce, the bureau continued with the Commerce Department, where it remains today.

80 million
The U.S. population was 80 million in 1902 and 281 million on Census Day, April 1, 2000.

Headquarters

Emery Building
Located near the U.S. Capitol, the Emery Building served as the Census Bureau's first headquarters. However, during its early years, the Census Bureau moved often. In 1914, it moved to the old Commerce Building at 19th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. For the next nine years, it occupied temporary quarters near the Washington Mall. The bureau moved to the main Commerce Department Building at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue in 1933. Then, in 1940, census workers moved to what was expected to be "permanent quarters" on Virginia Avenue, between 2nd and 3rd streets.

Suitland and Beyond
The Census Bureau staff, most of whom lived in Washington, moved to Suitland, Md., in 1942 and the headquarters staff, currently about 4,285, has occupied three or four buildings in the Suitland federal complex ever since. After 60 years, the General Services Administration recently announced it will build two new Census Bureau headquarters buildings near the current offices, scheduled for completion and occupancy in 2006 and 2007.

The Decennial Census

Census 2000
The participation by the people of this country in Census 2000 not only reversed a three decade decline in response rates, but also played a key role in helping produce a quality census. Consistently on time and under budget, Census 2000 was the largest and one of the most professional operations run by government. Its conduct set a standard for future censuses in the 21st century.




The proceeding information consists of excerpts from a 9-page long feature article titled "100 Years and Counting -- Census Bureau Celebrates Centennial." Previous 2002 Census Bureau Facts for Features: African American History Month (February), Valentine's Day (Feb. 14), Women's History Month (March) and St. Patrick's Day (March 17). Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (tel: (301) 457-3030; fax: (301) 457-3670; e-mail: <pio@census.gov>).

 
[PDF] or PDF denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader This link to a non-federal Web site does not imply endorsement of any particular product, company, or content. available free from Adobe.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Public Information Office |  Last Revised: August 09, 2007