Historical Collections of the Great Lakes

Introduction | Agency Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

This collection was acquired by Bowling Green State University's Center for Archival Collections from the National Archives and Records Service (now the National Archives and Records Administration) on January 9, 1975. In 1983 these volumes composing five cubic feet of material were transferred to the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes.

Literary and property rights have been dedicated to the public. Duplication is permitted for purposes of preservation and scholarly research. Final processing was completed in January 1992 by Mark J. Barnes.

Agency Sketch

The life cycle of the Steamboat Inspection Service was a lengthy one marked by the increased interest on the part of the government of the United States in regulating maritime commerce. Before there were steamboats for such a service to inspect, the First Congress passed navigation laws in 1789 that were enforced by customs officers from the Treasury Department. The development of steam vessels by the 1830s necessitated a change in the system for enforcing navigation and commerce regulations.

In 1832, 14% of all steamboats in the U. S. exploded due to faulty construction. More than 1,000 lives were lost. A preliminary form of inspection service began in 1838 when hulls and boilers received increasingly intensive scrutiny. Safety equipment became standardized and mandatory. By 1852 legislation to create the Steamboat Inspection Service was enacted. Inspection duties were assigned in geographical districts and the Service was underway.

In 1884, it was recognized that navigation issues and regulation enforcement had become increasingly complex. A Bureau of Navigation was added to the Treasury Department for administering navigation laws. In 1903 both the Bureau of Navigation and the Steamboat Inspection Service were transferred to the Department of Commerce and Labor.

Noncommercial regulatory activities began to accompany inspections of commercial vessels. An annual increase of 45% in motorboat accidents from 1904 to 1910 resulted in the inspection of small pleasure craft as well as steamboats.

The Bureau of Navigation and the Steamboat Inspection Service were merged in 1932 to form the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection. In 1936 the name was changed to the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation.

During World War II administrative streamlining placed the inspection duties once performed by the Steamboat Inspection Service under the Coast Guard. This occurred on what was then viewed as a temporary basis in 1942, but was made permanent in 1946. The work begun in 1852 by the Steamboat Inspection Service continues today through the efforts of the Coast Guard.

Scope and Content

This collection contains copies of certificates of inspection retained by the Cleveland, Ohio office of the U. S. Steamboat Inspection Service after examining steam vessels for recertification purposes. These annual inspections permitted vessels to operate on the Great Lakes. The certificates span the years 1876-1910.

These documents are bound in 23 volumes composing five cubic feet of records. Points of emphasis vary slightly between inspections for freight vessels, passenger vessels, and pleasure yachts. Generally the information compiled focused on hull materials, boiler tests, recommended crew sizes, and numbers of passengers for each vessel.

The largest concentration of inspections pertain to freight vessels (volumes 1-16, 1876-1910). Inspections for passenger vessels form the second largest segment of the collection (volumes 17-22, 1883-1910). Pleasure yacht certificates appear in volume 23, 1894-1899.

Series Description

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

FREIGHT STEAM VESSEL INSPECTION CERTIFICATES
1876-1910
Arranged chronologically
Contains copies of certificates of inspection issued for steam vessels used for freight carrying, towing, and other purposes unrelated to passenger service. These inspections were performed in Cleveland, Ohio by Steamboat Inspection Service staff. Information on the certificates generally includes vessel name, rig, dates of inspection, and certificate expiration, state and city where inspections were performed, vessel home ports, owners' names, location where boat was built, year of build, construction material of the hull, tonnage, engine type, boiler dimensions, recommended number of members in crew complement, numerical inspection results, names of hull and boiler inspectors. An alphabetical vessel name index is available.

PASSENGER STEAM VESSEL INSPECTION CERTIFICATES
1883-1910
Arranged chronologically
Contains copies of certificates of inspection issued for steam vessels used to carry passengers on the Great Lakes. These inspections were performed in Cleveland, Ohio by Steamboat Inspection Service staff. Information on the certificates generally includes vessel name, rig, dates of inspection and expiration, state and city where inspections were performed, home port of vessel, names of vessel owners and masters, place and year of build, construction material of the hull, tonnage, number of staterooms, berths, and cabins, number of passengers permitted on the vessel, number of members in crew complement, engine type, boiler dimensions, numerical inspection results, names of hull and boiler inspectors. An alphabetical vessel name index is available.

PLEASURE YACHTS VESSEL INSPECTION CERTIFICATES
1894-1899
Arranged chronologically
Contains copies of certificates of inspection issued for steam powered pleasure yachts. These inspections were performed in Cleveland, Ohio by Steamboat Inspection Service staff. Information on the certificates generally includes vessel name, rig, dates of inspection and expiration, state and city where inspections were performed, home port of vessel, names of vessel owners and masters, place and year of build, construction material of the hull, tonnage, safety device lists, engine type, boiler description, number of recommended passengers, numerical inspection results, hull and boiler inspectors. An alphabetical vessel name index is available.

Inventory

Volume

1. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1876-July 1878
2. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1878-August 1880
3. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1880-October 1882
4. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, April 1883-November 1885
5. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, July 1888-September 1890
6. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, September 1890-October 1892
7. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1892-September 1894
8. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, September 1894-August 1896
9. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1896-August 1898
10. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, August 1898-June 1900
11. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, June 1900-October 1902
12. Freight, Towing, and other steamers, October 1902-May 1905
13. Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, May 1905-June 1907
14. Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, June 1907-April 1909
15. Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, May 1909-August 1910
16. Freight, Towing, and other steamers of over 100 gross tons, August-December 1910
17. Ferry Steamers, May 1883 May 1885, December 1888
18. Passenger Steamers, April 1887-October 1894
19. Foreign Passenger Steam Vessels, May 1895-May 1900
20. Passenger Steamers, March 1895-June 1900
21. Passenger Steamers, March 1901-December 1905
22. Passenger Steamers over 100 gross tons, April 1906-September 1910
23. Pleasure Yachts, April 1894-June 1899

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