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Department of the Interior, census office,

Washington. November 9, 1804.

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Ztear Sirs:

Yours of the 8th instant, relative to the Extra Bul- letins prepared by this office, is received,

I regret that you have not b«en supplied all of this series of bulletins as issued, and will direct that those now available, with the exception of the numbers noted, be for- wa'rded at once. The editions of a few have been entirely ex- hausted, but the summary of the information covered by those missing from the file will be found in No, 71, Those still to be published will be mailed you when ready for distribu- ti on,

I am, referee t fully,

191.

Commi ssi oner of Labor in charge. Trustees of the tublic Library of the City of Boston,

Boston, Massachusetts,

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A. glance at xne accompanying map is equivalent to examining witn care tne cnange in population in every county in the United States for a decade. The substantial results of such an examination are thus laid before the eye, and may be easily retained. First, the observer is naturally struck with the fact that in a very large number of counties the population has actually decreased. The number of counties which have apparently lost population,

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Extra Census Bulletin.

No. 1.

WASHINGTON, D. C.

April 8, 1891.

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INCREASE AND DECREASE OF POPULATION:' 1880-lM).

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEKIOR,

Census Office, "Washington, D. O. April 2, 1891.

Sib:

The idea of graphically illustrating the results of the census was introduced into the ISfinth Census of the United States by the publication of a statistical atlas. This atlas, by a series of maps, exhibited to the eye the varying intensity of settlement over the area of the country, the distribution of the foreign population among the several states and sections, and the distribution of population in accordance with maximum and minimum temperature, rainfall, and altitude. Maps were presented to exhibit at a glance the topographical, geographical, and climatic conditions of the United States, the size and location of its cities, the products of its fields, the distribution of its wealth and its debt, and a variety of other data. By this method of pictorial presentation the eye is enabled to grasp in one instant salient facts that otherwise must be dug out from formidable pages of exhibits and volumes of tabulated statements. It is the intention of the Census Office to use the graphic method freely in the several final reports of the Eleventh Census, and, as far as practicable, in the preliminary bulletins. The map which comprises this bulletin has been compiled from the official returns of 1890, and shows by counties the proportional increase and decrease of population from 1880 to 1890, the proportion of increase being calculated on the basis of the population in 1880. In this calculation the county is used throughout as the unit, and consequently the lines of demarcation upon the map are arbitrary, and in many cases show abrupt changes. The distinctions shown are as follows :

1. A decrease in population.

2. An increase in population up to 25 per cent, that being approximately the rate of increase in the country at large.

3. An increase from 25 to 100 per cent, or double the population in 1880.

4. An increase above 100 per cent.

No map similar to this has ever been published by a federal census, and consequently there exists no basis for graphic comparison with previous censuses.

A glance at the accompanying map is equivalent to examining with care the change in population in every

county in the United States for a decade. The substantial results of such an examination are thus laid before the

eye, and may be easily retained. First, the observer is naturally struck with the fact that Pn a very large number

of counties the population has actually decreased. The number of counties which have apparently lost population, c. o. P.— 5m

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2 INCREASE AND DECREASE OE POPULATION.

whether from an actual diminution of inhabitants or from a reduction of territory during the past ten years, is 455. In about fifty of these cases this reduction is due to a reduction of territory consequent upon the formation of new counties. In only 138 counties had the number of inhabitants diminished during the decade preceding 1880. From the map we learn that the losses during the past decade occurred mainly in the central parts of Maine, ISTew Hampshire, Vermont, New York, northern New Jersey, and eastern Virginia (which from the summit of the Blue Kidge to the Atlantic has lost population), and is scattered quite generally through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Southern Michigan and Wisconsin have also suffered, while in eastern Iowa a large proportion of the counties have lost population.

In Colorado -the mining counties, as a rule, have diminished in population, while with the exception of two counties the%in!tifr^sfc#t^;qf ISTe'v'ac'la | has; lostf, inhabitants. The mining regions of California have suffered in a similar manner; and as the buff tint' unfolds the story of a decreasing population, so in contradistinction the dark gray tells of an increase*, which has ^>een uniform in parts of our vast western domain, of over 100 per cent.

A very rafp.d' '.iijcr^age'.fsiisbQwa upoji -the Great Plains, and generally throughout the agricultural regions of the Cordilleran plateau. " Northern Michigan, western and southern Florida, Arkansas, southern Missouri, and central Texas also show phenomenal growth, while here and there throughout the southern Appalachian region are areas of great increase.

As was pointed out in Bulletin No. 12, different parts of the country present different stages in settlement, which are accompanied and marked by various stages of progress from one class of industries to another. Commencing with the pastoral stage, which is still represented upon the Great Plains and in the Cordilleran region, where the population is widely scattered, it passes through the agricultural stage, where the population, though still scattered, is much denser, to communities engaged in manufacturing and commercial pursuits, in which the population is in the main congregated in towns and cities.

The change from the first to the second of these stages of growth in this country has been accomplished quietly, and without other symptoms than the accompanying increase in density of population. The change from the second to the third stage, on the contrary, is frequently a forced change, produced by the competition of other agricultural regions. The first symptom of approaching change consists in a reduction of the rate of increase, or it may be an absolute decrease of population. This is followed or accompanied by an aggregation of the people in cities, and finally, as manufactures and commerce become established, by an increase of population at an accelerating rate.

Southern New England, together with most of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, have passed through these stages and have now reached that stage in which commerce and manufactures are thoroughly established and constitute the leading industries. The people to a large extent have withdrawn from the country and are grouped in cities and towns. The population, which two or three decades ago was almost at a standstill, is now increasing rapidly under the stimulus of profitable occupations. The central parts of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, however, are still in the transition stage, and are not gaining in population.

In the upper Mississippi valley and in Virginia, where the map shows great areas of losses, the community is in a transition stage from agricultural to manufacturing industries. The rich lands of the further western states are drawing their farmers away to reap larger profits, while other industries have not yet attained such a footing as to attract or retain population in their place. The condition of things now prevailing in these states was suggested by the census of 1880, when Ohio was seen to be in this transition stage. Since then this transition wave has extended westward across Indiana, Illinois, and well into Iowa.

As a whole, the plains and the Cordilleran region have been peopled rapidly, especially in the northern portions. It is this region which by virtue of its virgin soil, cheap land, and easy tillage has reduced the

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INCREASE AND DECREASE OF POPULATION. 3

profits of eastern agriculture, and lias thus drawn so heavily upon the farming population of the more eastern states. The rich mineral deposits of Montana and Arizona have been also largely instrumental in drawing population to this region. While the mineral product of Colorado has not diminished, the era of speculation is over, and the floating population which covered its mountains and valleys ten years ago has, in the main, departed.

The mining interests of Nevada are at a low ebb, and as the state contains very little water for irrigating the soil it has been unable to retain its inhabitants. The mining regions of California also have lost population. Its agricultural regions, on the other hand, have gained rapidly, especially in the southern part, where the climate and soil are alike very favorable to the farmer.

The study of this map, the first of the kind published by the Census Office, will, in fact, show the changes that

have taken place in the population of a nation of 63,000,000 in a decade. The student of statistics will find much

more in the map than the suggestions herewith submitted.

ROBERT P. PORTER,

Superintendent of Censtis. The Secretary of the Interior.

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ELEVENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES

ROBERT P. PORTER. SUPERINTENDENT

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Extra Census Bulletin.

No. 2. WASHINGTON, D. c. April 20, 1891.

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO DENSITY: 1890.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Census Office,

Washington, D. O, April 10, 1891. Sir:

In the following tables and accompanying map, prepared by Mr. Henry Gannett, Geographer, special agent of the Census Office, are presented certain facts relating to the density of the rural as distinguished from the urban population of the country, and in the tables comparison is made with similar facts from other censuses.

The method of preparing the map was as follows : The county was in general taken as the unit. Its population having been ascertained, the number of inhabitants in all cities of 8,000 inhabitants or more existing within it has been deducted therefrom, the location and population of such cities being represented upon the map by circles in heavy body color of area roughly proportional to the number of inhabitants. The rural population has then been divided by the area of the county in square miles, and the quotient accepted as the average density of settlement of the county in question. In cases, however, where the county is of unusual extent, as is the case with most counties in the Cordilleran region, northern Maine, etc., or where there was reason to believe that the different parts of the county differed decidedly in density of population, the county was not treated as a whole, but an approximation to the distribution of the population within it was obtained by the use of the town or township as the unit of computation, or by other less exact means, in case this was not practicable. The average density of each county or part of a county having thus been ascertained, the figures representing them were platted upon a county map of the United States and were grouped in accordance with the legend upon the map. The subdivisions are those in use in former censuses, viz :

(0) Less than 2 inhabitants to a square mile. (Regarded as unsettled.)

(1) 2 to 6 inhabitants to a square mile.

(2) 6 to 18 inhabitants to a square mile.

(3) 18 to 45 inhabitants to a square mile.

(4) 45 to 90 inhabitants to a square mile.

(5) More than 90 inhabitants to a square mile.

These limits define in a general way the extent and prevalence of various classes of industries. The first group, 2 to (5 to a square mile, indicates a population mainly occupied with the grazing industry or a widely scattered farming population. The second group, 6 to 18, indicates a farming population, with systematic cultivation of the soil, but this either in an early stage of settlement or upon more or less rugged soil. The third group, 18 to 45 to a square mile, almost universally indicates a highly successful agriculture, while in some localities the beginnings of manufactures have raised into this group a difficult farming region. Speaking generally, agriculture in this country is not carried

C. O. P.— 5m

2 DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO DENSITY: 1890.

on with such care and refinement as yet to afford employment and support to a population in excess of 45 to a square mile ; consequently, the last two groups, 45 to 90 and 90 and above to a square mile, appear only as commerce and manufactures arise and personal and professional services are in demand.

In reports of former censuses that portion of our domain which contains less than two inhabitants to a square mile has been regarded as unsettled territory, and throughout this discussion the same distinction will be observed.

Upon the map the lines limiting the areas of different densities have not been left to follow strictly the boundary lines of counties, as would be required by a literal interpretation of the figures platted upon the map, but have been drawn in a more natural course, avoiding sharp angles and straight lines, but still in such a way as not to depart materially from the indications of the figures. In one noticeable respect the present map differs from the density maps of former censuses. This is, that care has been taken to avoid passing directly from one grade to another removed from it by two or three steps, for example, from grade 5 to grade 3. This has been done upon the assumption that, whatever the figures indicate, there must be a gradation in population as with contour lines, and hence the intermediate grades have been represented, even though it be in narrow bands, as more nearly approaching the truth.

From the map and the records of past censuses the following table has been prepared, presenting the areas in square miles of different classes of settlement and the total settled area at the date of each census :

AREAS IN SQUARE MILES OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF SETTLEMENT.

	Total area of settlement : 2 or more to the square mile.	1	3	3	4	5
YEARS.	2 to6 to the square mile.	6 to 18 to the square mile.	18 to 45 to the square mile.	45 to 90 to the square mile.	90 and over to the square mile.
1790	239,935 305,708 407,945	83,436 81,010 116,629	83,346 123,267 154,419	59,282 82,504 108,155	13,051 17,734 27,499	820
1800	1,193 1,243
1810
1820	5C8.717	140,827	177,153	150,390	39,004	1,343
1830	632,717	151,460	225,894	186,503	65,440	3,414
1840	807,292	183,607	291 ,819	241,587	84,451	5,828
1850	979,249	233,697	294,098	338,796	100,794	11,261
1860	1,194,754	260,866	353,341	431,601	134,722	14,224
1870	1,272,239	'245,897	303,475	470,529	174,036	18,302
< 1880	1,569,570	384,820	373,890	554,300	231,410	25,150
1890	1,947,285	592,037	393,943	701,845	235,148	24,312

It will be noted that the settled area has constantly and rapidly increased, but by no means at a uniform rate or at rates proportional to the increase of population. The following table shows the rates of increase of the settled area and of the population placed in juxtaposition :

PER CENT OF INCREASE OF SETTLED AREA AND OF POPULATION.

YEA.KS.	Areas.	Population.	PER CENT OF INCREASE.
Area.	Population.
1790	239,935 305,708 407,945 508,717 632,717 807,292 979,249 1,194,754 1,272,239 1,569,570 1,917,285	3,929,214 5,308,483 7,239,881 9,633,822 12,866,020 17,069,453 23,191,876 31,443,321 38,558,371 50,155,783 02,622,250
1800	27.41 33.44 24.70 21.38 27.59 21.30 22.01 0.49 23.37 24.06	35.10 36.38 33.07 33.55 32.67 S5.87 35.58 22.63 30.08 24. 86'
1810
1820
1830
1840
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890

In 1890 the population was nearly sixteen times as great as in 1790, while during the century the settled area was increased only about eightfold. In general, the increase of population has gone on at a much more rapid rate than that of settled area.

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO DENSITY: 1890.

Notwithstanding the constant passage of territory from lower groups into higher by reason of increase in the number of inhabitants, the lower groups have been so rapidly increased by settlement of new territory that they have increased in every case, excepting that in 1870 a slight diminution is noted in group 1. In 1890 a trifling reduction is seen in the highest group. This is doubtless an indirect result of the rapid development of cities in the territory falling into this group, as each city, upon reaching a j)opulation of 8,000, is subtracted from the population of its county, thereby materially reducing the apparent density of the population of the county. To a certain extent the case is similar in the next group, that of 45 to 90 inhabitants to a scpiare mile, which during the past decade increased in area but 3,738 square miles.

During this period the inroads upon the unsettled region have been unprecedented in amount, not less than 377,715 square miles having been redeemed, exceeding by 80,384 square miles the area settled between 1870 and 1880.

The following table shows the proportion of the area of each group of population to the total area of settlement at each census :

YEARS.	1	2	3	4	S
1790 1S0O 1810	348 265 286 277 239 228 239 218 193 245 304	348 403 379 348 357 361 301 296 286 238 202	247 270 265 296 295 299 346 361 370 353 361	54 58 67 76 103 105 103 113 137 148 121	3 4 3 3 6 7 11 12 14 16 12
1820
1830
1840
1850
I860
1870
1880
1890

The most striking fact which appears upon a study of the map is the numerous additions which have been made to the settled area within the Cordilleran region. Settlements have spread westward up the slope of the plains until they have joined the bodies formerly isolated in Colorado, forming a continuous body of settlement from the east to the Kocky mountains. Practically the whole of Kansas has become a settled region, and the unsettled area of Nebraska has been reduced in dimensions-to a third of what it was ten years ago. What was a sparsely-settled region in Texas in 1880 is now the most populous part of the state, while settlements have spread westward to the escarpment of the Staked Plains. The unsettled regions of the Dakotas have been reduced to half their former dimensions. Settlements in Montana have spread until they now occupy one-third of the state. In New Mexico, Idaho, and Wyoming considerable extensions of area are to be noted. In Colorado, in spite of the decline of the mining fever and the depopulation of its mining regions, settlement has spread, and two-thirds of the state is now under the dominion of man. Oregon and Washington show equally rapid progress, and California, although its mining regions have suffered, has made great inroads upon its unsettled regions, especially in the south. Of all the western states and territories Nevada alone is at a standstill in this respect, its settled area remaining practically the same as in 1880. When it is remembered that the state has lost one-third of its population during the past ten years, the fact that it has held its own in settled area is surprising until it is understood that the state has undergone a material change in occupations during the decade, and that the inhabitants, instead of being closely grouped together and engaged in mining pursuits, have become scattered along its streams and have engaged in agriculture.

Turning now to the east, it is seen that settlement is spreading with some rapidity in Maine, its unsettled area having dwindled from 12,000 down to about 4,000 square miles. The unsettled portion of the Adirondack region in New York has also diminished, there being now but 1,000 square miles remaining unsettled. The frontier has been pushed still farther southward in Florida, and the unsettled area has been reduced from 20,800 to 13,000 square miles.

The lumbering and mining interests of Michigan have practically obliterated its wilderness and have reduced that of Wisconsin to one-half of its former area. In Minnesota the area of its wild northern forests have been reduced from 34,000 to 23,000 square miles.

4 DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION ACCORDING TO DENSITY : 1890.

The following table presents in detailed form, by states, the extent of settled area and the area in each of the density groups :

AREAS IN SQUARE MILES OF THE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF SETTLEMENT IN 1890, BY STATES.

Total area 2 to 6

STATES AND TERRITORIES. of to the square

settlement. • mile.

Alabama ...

Arizona

Arkansas... California .. Colorado ...

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia..

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts..

Michigan

Minnesota.

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire..

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina.. North Dakota....

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania....

Rhode Island

South Carolina.. South Dakota....

Tennessee..

Texas

Utah

Vermont.... Virginia

"Washington

West Virginia- Wisconsin

Wyoming

51,540 24,645 53,045 06,604 68,492

4,845

1,960

65

41 ,070

58,980

39,143 56,000 .35,910 55,475 80,971

40,000

45.420

25J29

9,860

8,040

57,430 56,259 46,340 68,735 46,796

63,061

11,948

8,828

7,455

45,589

46,580 48,580 26,973 40,760 2,890

46,189 44,985 1,085 30,170 43,848

41,750 150.810 27,580 9,135 40,125

36,945 24,645 51,148

22,852

24,645

57,657 57,810

6 to 18 18 to 45 45 to 90

to the square to the square to the square

mile. mile. mile.

393,943

12,349 9,871

45,941

26,801 10,022

35,625

1,427

"i'7,835

39,124

59,755 20,421

22,202

8,410 22,852

9,472

701,845

235,148

37,717

23,212

2S,716

9,439

29,833 10,181 1,243

18,688 1,166 37,233	20,451 16,153 1,910
	4,246
24,920	22,493 1,643
7,608 9,624	18,490 6,596

1,931 .. 35,040 :

13,651 25,766 10,007 14,892 855

17,040

1,208

886

41,890 12,484 50,167 32,449

25,149 18,319 6,703 2,900 959

16,844 20,622 35,502 52,765

19,220

718

5,245

1,550

1,887 6,313 9,138

5,018

23,150

4,114

40,313

5,701

730

3,109

13,461 9,190 14,360

13,172 38,060

1,616 2,890

2,047 10,617

23,500 1,355

24,985

50,742

1,458

7,487

29,895

1,282 11 ,706 20,672

4,351

4,072 1,150

6,621

Above 90 to the square mile.

14,110

23,426

1,062

1,109

12,491

816

2,806

6,123

4,149

13,800

831 1,030

1,989 3,055

28,200 4,207

3,689 7,302

24,312

773 65

717 187

837 2,932

780

2,850 1,828

37,744	1,400
23,092 320 6,241	10,676 765
12,651
918 7,121

Up to and including 1880 the country had a frontier of settlement, but at present the unsettled area has been so broken into by isolated bodies of settlement that there can hardly be said to be a frontier line. In the discussion of its extent, its westward movement, etc., it can not, therefore, any longer have a place in the census reports.

Very respectfully,

The Secretary of the Interior.

ROBERT P. PORTER,

Superintendent of Census.

ELEVENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES

ROBERT P. PORTER, SUPERINTEN DENT

EXTRA BULLETIN No. 2

MAP

SHOWING,INSIXDEGREES OFDENSITY.THE DISTRIBUTION

OF THE

POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES

attheEleventh Census (1890)

Compiled by.

HENRY GANNETT, Geographer.

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JULIUS BIEH& CO. UTH.N-Y.