U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Duluth, Minn.) records
Collection Overview
Abstract
Boiler inspection records for a number of Great Lakes vessels from the Duluth office of the Steamboat Inspection Service.
Dates
- Creation: 1916-1966
Extent
1.38 Cubic Feet (3 legal manuscript boxes)
Creator
- U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Duluth, Minn.) (Organization)
Scope and Contents
This contains correspondence, reports, and drawings relating to the federal inspection of steam vessels at Duluth, Minnesota. Within the reports are both Hull Inspection Reports and Boiler Inspection reports; the bulk of the collection consists of the latter. Architectural drawings of the inspected boilers are often present in the files. The inspection reports include such information as: name and location of manufacturer, whether the boilers were inspected at time of production, dimensions of boiler and and tubes, tensile strength of steel used in construction, and other data.
Agency History
The history of the Steamboat Inspection Service was a lengthy one marked by the increased interest on the part of the U.S. government in regulating maritime commerce. Before there were steamboats for such a service to inspect, the first Congress passed navigation laws in 1789 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 one thousand lives were lost. A preliminary form of inspection service began in 1838 when hulls and boilers received increasingly intense scrutiny. Safety equipment became standardized and was mandatory. By 1852 legislation to create the Steamboat Inspection Service was ready for enactment. Inspection duties were assigned in geographical districts and the Service was under way.
By 1884 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 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.
Conditions Governing Access
No known access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection is in the public domain.
Language of Materials
English
Processing Information
Collection processed by student assistant Fern Pennington in July 2024.
Subject
- U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Duluth, Minn.) (Organization)
- McDougall-Duluth Shipbuilding Company (Organization)
- Globe Shipbuilding Company (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service (Duluth, Minn.) records
- Author
- Fern Pennington, Mark Sprang
- Date
- July 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin