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Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Contents | Series Description | Inventory
Introduction
The collection of navigational charts has been acquired over many years, primarily from the Jerome Library at Bowling Green
State University.
Literary and property rights are dedicated to the public and duplication is permitted for the purpose of preservation and
research. Preparation of a guide to this collection was completed in June 1993 by Mark J. Barnes, Teri Branham, and Stacey
Brinker.
Agency History
Though not the sole producer of charts in this collection, the United States Lake Survey was instrumental in preparing navigational
aids for Great Lakes transportation. On March 3, 1841 Congress authorized funding for a survey of the Great Lakes and connecting
waterways. The Corps of Topographical Engineers created a new service, the US Lake Survey (USLS), to meet the demand for improved
navigational information on the Great Lakes. The US Lake Survey was later transferred to the US Army Corps of Engineers. Currently
the functions of the former US Lake Survey are performed by the National Ocean Service within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
By 1882, the Lake Survey had charted the lakes and had drafted 76 charts showing depths in waterways to eighteen feet. Chart
corrections were completed over the period up to 1900. Rapid increases in the size of lake vessels made the eighteen foot
depth noted on charts obsolete. The need to chart deeper water to accommodate larger vessels began a new round of complete
surveys with subsequent corrections. This cycle of surveys and updates continues today as an activity of the National Ocean
Service.
Responsibility for charting additional related waterways developed in the early twentieth century. Today, the USLS provides
charts for rivers leading into Green Bay from central Wisconsin, for the New York State Barge Canal system, and for the Border
Lakes on the Minnesota-Ontario boundary. The region of jurisdiction for USLS extends from Vermont to Minnesota, with the Great
Lakes portion alone covering 61,000 square miles of water and 5,500 miles of coastline.
The Great Lakes Pilot is published as a supplement for chart information. When physical conditions in a charted area are not easily represented
on a chart, extended commentary on the location or phenomenon can be found in the Great Lakes Pilot.
Scope and Content
The Navigational Charts Collection documents the history of this form of cartographic aid to mariners on the Great Lakes.
Approximately 2,600 items in the 142 cubic foot collection date from 1849 to 1991. These charts were produced by a variety
of sources in the United States and Canada. Most items were drafted by the United States Lake Survey, the United States National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Canadian Hydrographic Service, and the Canadian Department of Fisheries.
Included in this collection are charts for entire lakes for each Great Lake, charts for connecting waterways, and charts for
subregions (Lake Erie-West End) in the lakes. Individual harbors are charted, as is the St. Lawrence River. Other locations
within the Great Lakes Basin are also represented through charts for the Border Lakes between Ontario and Minnesota. Charts
for the New York State Barge Canal system are also present. Scattered Atlantic Coast and Mississippi Valley charts appear
in small quantities.
Most collection charts were designed for standard navigational purposes. Others were prepared as bathymetric or morphometric
guides to the underwater geology of the lake floors. Some charts focus on shoreline development patterns.
Series Description
CHARTS
CHARTS
[1849-1991]
Drawers 1-50
Series contains navigational charts for the Great Lakes, connecting waterways, selected waterways in the Great Lakes Basin,
and for occasional Atlantic coast and Mississippi Valley locations. The charts are arranged numerically by catalog number
under each lake, river or canal. When searching for charts on an area on the boundary between two bodies of water, researchers
should consult the list of charts for both areas to see all potentially useful charts. For example, the mouth of the Detroit
River is covered by both Detroit River and Lake Erie charts. Items in this chart collection reflect polyconic and mercator
projections. Variations on these two main projections include universal transverse mercator, transverse mercator, and Lambert
conformal conic formats. A complete list of individual charts, including number and date is available at the repository.
Inventory
Drawer 1: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1849-1990
Drawer 2: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1926-1974
Drawer 3: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1933-1973
Drawer 4: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1849-1983
Drawer 5: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1948-1991
Drawer 6: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1974-1993
Drawer 7: Lake Huron Charts
- Charts, 1828-1974
Drawer 8: Lake Huron Charts
- Charts, 1828-1973
Drawer 9: Lake Huron Charts
- Charts, 1895-1974
Drawer 10: Lake Huron Charts
- Charts, 1941-1992
Drawer 11: Lake Huron Charts
- 1976-1991
Drawer 12: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1864-1981
Drawer 13: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1878-1973
Drawer 14: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1927-1973
Drawer 15: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1931-1993
Drawer 16: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1919-1973
Drawer 17: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1908-1972
Drawer 18: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1906-1972
Drawer 19: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1892-1993
Drawer 20: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1975-1993
Drawer 21: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1975-1992
Drawer 22: Lake Ontario Charts
- Charts, 1942-1985
Drawer 23: Lake Ontario Charts
- Charts, 1914-1971
Drawer 24: Lake Ontario Charts
- Charts, 1940-1977
Drawer 25: Lake Ontario Charts
- Charts, 1974-1990
Drawer 26: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1858-1973
Drawer 27: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1916-1973
Drawer 28: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1908-1973
Drawer 29: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1905-1973
Drawer 30: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1871-1991
Drawer 31: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1976-1990
Drawer 32: River Charts--St. Clair Lake and River
- Charts, 1828-1997
Drawer 33: River Charts--St. Mary's River/Straits of Mackinac
- Charts, 1825-1999
Drawer 34: Charts--Welland Canal, New York Canals, Border Lakes
- Charts, 1917-1990
Includes Erie Canal and other New York State Canals, locks, Welland Canal and other charts
Drawer 35: Charts--Border Lakes
- Charts, 1964-1985
Includes lakes in southern Canada and northern United States
Drawer 36: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1851-1977
Drawer 37: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1926-1979
Drawer 38: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1926-1973
Drawer 39: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1922-1971
Drawer 40: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1923-1977
Drawer 41: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1944-1977
Drawer 42: St. Lawrence River Charts
- Charts, 1935-1993
Drawer 43: Detroit River Charts
- Charts, 1873-2000
Drawer 44: Miscellaneous Charts
- Charts, 1935-1987
Includes Chicago Waterways, Lake Champlain, northern inland lakes
Drawer 45: Miscellaneous Charts
- Charts, 1965-2000
Includes border lakes in New York, Minnesota, Ontario, others
Drawer 46: Lake Erie Charts
- Charts, 1991-2002
Includes harbors for Buffalo, Erie, Ashtabula, Fairport, Cleveland, Lorain, Huron, Sandusky, Toledo, and other charts
Drawer 47: Lake Huron Charts
- Charts, 1989-2002
Includes Saginaw Bay and River, Straits of Mackinac, Les Cheneaux Islands, and other charts
Drawer 48: Lake Michigan Charts
- Charts, 1981-2002
Includes harbors for Milwaukee, Racine, Chicago, Calumet and Indiana, Holland, St. Joseph, Ludington, and other charts
Drawer 49: Lake Ontario Charts
- Charts, 1971-2002
Includes Niagara River and Welland Canal, and harbors for Toronto, Oswego and other charts
Drawer 50: Lake Superior Charts
- Charts, 1990-2000
Includes harbors for Marquette and Presque Isle, Ashland and Washburn, Duluth-Superior and other charts
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