After reading a post on the Freakonomics blog, I decided to do a bit of research:
If you are in the United States, you probably remember participating in the Decennial Census in 2010. These forms are kept confidential for 72 years—roughly an average American’s life span. But this same rule means that today (actually, a couple of days ago), the 1940 Census results became public information. The good folks at the National Archives have scanned all of these census forms, and put them all online. With a bit of work, you should be able to find your house—or if you are in a newer neighborhood, perhaps a neighboring house.
It took me a few hours to make my way through the National Archives site before I hit on useful information. It turns out that their site really only likes Internet Exlorer. Blegh. Of course, not that you can find that listed on their website anywhere. If you’re looking to do the same research I did, I’d recommend checking out this Unified 1940 Census ED Finder. I didn’t find it until I completed my research, but it would have saved me a lot of time.
According to the National Archives 1940s Census, where I live now was Enumeration District 1-106 of Washington, DC. Once I figured out my enumeration district, I was able to find a map (click through for the full size version).
