The general purpose of this study was to gain information from the 1970 U.S. Census on the social and educational characteristics of rural Appalachian families with preschool children so that effective programs could be planned to meet their educational needs. More specifically, the data were needed to determine if Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Home-Oriented Preschool Education Program (HOPE) was a feasible way to meet these needs. Information was gathered on a number of variables, including educational characteristics of parents and their children, occupational and income characteristics of families, availability of telephone and television, housing characteristics, and other demographic information such as race, sex, and mobility of the population. Procedures used in the study are described, and more than 60 tables of data are included. (MS)