History

Data@Museums

Dallas Historical Society

The Dallas Historical Society used census records to tell the
story of Texas photographer Polly Smith and her family.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Historical Society.

The Dallas Historical Society in Dallas, TX, used census records and data to tell the story of 27-year-old Texas photographer, Polly Smith. In 1936, Smith accepted her first professional assignment to photograph the entire state of Texas, crisscrossing the state by air, rail, and automobile. The 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition featured her images and many are permanently displayed in the Dallas Fair Park's Hall of State.

The images that are not part of the Hall of State's exhibit are part of the Dallas Historical Society's collection and form the basis of their exhibit, "Polly Smith: A Texas Journey." The society used census records to paint a picture of both Polly and her family—including the places they lived, their occupations, and their lifestyles. They also discovered that Polly was one of only 360 women photographers (out of 1,428 total) in Texas.

Polly had a close connection to the U.S. Census Bureau—her mother, Minnie Burck Smith, was one of the first female enumerator supervisors from 1919–1935. In 1968, her brother, C.R. Smith, became the Secretary of Commerce, the agency that oversees the Census Bureau.

To learn more about Polly Smith and her family, visit the Dallas Historical Society .