1880 US Census: how to identify wards within a major city

USA
1

I want to identify wards within a large city, Chicago. The published Census volumes did report the city’s population by ward, and so the original records must have included this information. The IPUMS field of street doesn’t work because most streets spanned more than one ward (it also has many missing values).

Any hints would be welcome.

Thanks!

2

You could try to use the ENUMDIST variable (with the STATEFIP and SUPDIST) to identify Wards. In the case of Cook County (COUNTY==310 in STATEFIP==17), the county is completely contained within SUPDIST==1 within STATEFIP==17. This webpage offers maps giving the enumeration district codes within wards for 1880.

I hope this helps.

3

Thanks very much, Joe!