About the Data

This project assembles and harmonizes historical manufacturing data from the Census of Manufactures, utilizing all surviving manuscript schedules from 1850-1880.
The resulting datasets enable researchers to analyze industrial change, geographic patterns, and firm dynamics throughout the mid-19th century in the United States.

Track the geographic spread of manufacturing industries.
Compare establishment-level and county-level economic patterns.
Study the effects of transportation, energy, and policy on industrial growth.
Link micro-level CMF records to other historical datasets.

Click the following link to download a PDF of the complete set of documentation for this project:

Download Documentation

Coverage Map

Below is a modern state-boundary map showing which states have complete coverage, partial coverage, or no coverage in the CMF data, as compared to the published county-industry tabulations. Coverage Map

CMF Manuscript Navigation Overview of how to interpret the CMF Images

Prepared CMF Data Structure Available variables, explanation of differences by year

Coverage Detailed discussion of dataset coverage over time, including special schedules and differences from the published CMF tabulations.

FAQs Common questions and important notes about limitations.

Methodology Cleaning and preparation procedures, including sub-pages for each processing step.

Change Log Ongoing record of dataset revisions.

Citation

Publications using any data from this website should cite the following paper:

"Gaining Steam: Technology Diffusion with Recurring Lock-in," Richard Hornbeck, Shanon Hsuan-Ming Hsu, Anders Humlum, and Martin Rotemberg, September 2025.

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About the Data

Coverage Map

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Citation

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