The Eighth Census of the United States was authorized by the previous census May 23, 1850 act. On the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, the provisions of this act were to be adhered to, following the requirement for the taking of the eighth, or any subsequent census under its provisions, if no law, therefore, was passed before January 1 of the year in which the census was required.1”
The census office, and the position of Superintending Clerk were (for all practical purpose) abolished in May 1862. A portion of the clerks engaged in census work were transferred to the General Land Office, where the work of the 1860 census was completed, including the publication of a two-volume census report, under the direction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
1Carrol D. Wright and William C. Hunt, The History and Growth of the United States Census. Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 1900. p.50.
Population of the United States in 1860; comp. from the original returns of the Eighth Census... - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [ZIP, 113.7 MB]
Agriculture of the United States in 1860; comp. from the original returns of the Eighth Census... - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [ZIP, 58.9 MB]
Manufactures of the United States in 1860; comp. from the original returns of the Eighth Census... - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [ZIP, 125.4 MB]
Statistics of the United States, (including mortality, property, &c.) in 1860; comp. from the original returns and being the final exhibit of the Eighth Census... - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [ZIP, 79.9 MB]
Preliminary report on the Eighth Census, 1860. 1862 (37-2, H. Ex doc 116) - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [ZIP, 44.2 MB]
Instructions to U.S. Marshals & Assistants - Title Page [PDF], Full Document [PDF, 8 MB]
For online viewing, each book with a total file size over 10 MB has been divided into several internally linked PDF files. These same files have also been zipped to provide users a more convenient method of transferring the files to an alternate storage device for offline viewing. The total file size of the online PDF files is similar to that of their ZIP counterparts.
Users with visual impairments who have difficulty accessing PDF documents can call 301-763-7710.
[PDF] or 
denotes a file in Adobe’s Portable Document Format. To view the file, you will need the Adobe® Reader® 
available free from Adobe.
This symbol indicates a link to a non-government web site. Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
