GLMS 1 - Chicago Shipbuilding Company
MLA Citation
Tags
| Title | GLMS 1 - Chicago Shipbuilding Company |
|---|---|
| Subject | Business & Commerce |
| Historical Collections of the Great Lakes | |
| Introduction | The papers of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company, Chicago, Illinois, were obtained in the winter of 1967/1968 by Richard J. Wright. They became part of the Richard J. Wright Marine Collection at Bowling Green State University, and are now part of the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes. The records of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company occupy nearly thirteen linear feet. The bulk of the records, which fall between the years 1900 and 1950, document typical activities of the company including physical expansion, financial records, World War I shipbuilding and official, legal and labor correspondence. No restrictions have been placed on the use of these materials. The register was completed by Linda Jasperse, graduate student in the History Department, Bowling Green State University. |
| Agency History | The Chicago Shipbuilding Company was formed in 1890. In that same year, land was purchased from the South Chicago Brewing Company at 101st Street and the east bank of the Calumet River as a site for the new shipyard. The shipyard was constructed soon thereafter. The company underwent a number of administrative changes in its early years. Initially, it was a branch of Cleveland's Globe Iron Works. Mr. John F. Pankhurst, the vice president of the Cleveland firm, also was the Chicago company's first president. Because of changes in stock ownership in 1892, the Chicago Shipbuilding Company was reorganized, became more independent of the Globe Iron Works, and sought its own contracts. At this time, William L. Brown was president and Washington Irving Babcock was general manager. For the fledgling company, the 1890s were a prosperous decade. The shipyard expanded, more ships were built, and repair services were provided for Great Lakes ships. William Brown and Washington Babcock provided such effective leadership that toward the end of the decade, the Chicago Shipbuilding Company was one of the most highly regarded of all shipyards in the Great Lakes area. By 1898, the company was to experience even further organizational changes. It became apparent that fierce competition among the various shipyards on the Great Lakes was undermining profit margins. The answer was consolidation; the Chicago Shipbuilding Company joined the newly created American Shipbuilding Company. The Chicago Shipbuilding Company, as a subsidiary of American Shipbuilding Company, continued to build ships and to do repair work throughout the early part of the twentieth century. The company again expanded, and in 1912 it took over the Ship Owner's Dry Dock Company of Chicago. In 1913, it closed the North Yard and built a new dry dock area near the South Yard. Today the Chicago Shipbuilding Company is mostly involved with ship repair and operates under the name of the American Shipbuilding Company. |
| Scope and Content | The records generated by the Chicago Shipbuilding Company extend from 1890 to 1962, with the bulk of the material falling between 1900 and 1950. A single record series included in the collection dates to 1832, but it consists of land titles that were not generated by the company. For the Great Lakes, the maritime, or the economic historian, these records would prove to be exceedingly useful. They are arranged chronologically by series where possible. It must be noted, however, that very early records of the company (ca. 1890) and later records (after 1950) are, for the most part, incomplete or missing. This would limit the research potential of the collection for those interested solely in the development of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company itself. It would perhaps present less of a problem to researchers interested in, for example, early twentieth century American shipbuilding or individual vessel information. The most important record series include: dry dock ledgers and reports, correspondence, surveys, and financial papers. Together, these documents help the researcher to grasp the administrative, fiscal, and historical importance of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company. First, the dry dock ledgers and reports are records documenting typical activities of the company: what ships were repaired, how long it took to repair them, and what services were rendered. The records are in convenient column form for statistical analysis of, for example, linear growth trends in the company. The dry dock reports also include signatures of dock employees, which may provide leads for the researcher interested in turn-of-the-century worker or labor history. The dry dock reports comprise the most complete of all of the record groups in this collection, for they extend without gaps from 1907 to 1962. Second, the correspondence available consists of a variety of series: official, legal, and labor correspondence. To glean information regarding expansion, property-leasing transactions, and labor relations, these documents would be most useful. The bulk of correspondence lies between 1915 and 1950. Third, the South Yard surveys visually document the expansion of the main dry dock area of the Chicago Shipbuilding Company. The blueprints, charts, and maps extend from 1894 to 1932, which covers well the early-century years of South Yard improvements. Fourth, the daily and monthly financial papers are of importance primarily to statisticians, although the general researcher in Great Lakes history could benefit from perusing the financial statements, for example, to better understand the company's status at a given point in its history. This record group extends from 1909 to 1943, although many series are incomplete. A feature of this collection is a record group entitled "World War I Shipbuilding." This group consists of contracts, payroll bills, correspondence and superintendent's reports for the years 1917-1918. For the researcher interested in the effects of the war years upon American industrial concerns, this record group would be of primary importance. The remaining record groups-building materials specifications, ship tests, and land titles-would not be of considerable use to those engaged in initial orientation to the Chicago Shipbuilding Company. The materials in this collection are, for the most part, in very good condition. The records have not been microfilmed to date. |
| Series Description | CORRESPONDENCE CORRESPONDENCE LABOR CORRESPONDENCE SOUTH YARD CORRESPONDENCE SUBJECT FILES/CASE FILES BUILDING MATERIALS SPECIFICATIONS NORTH YARD TRANSACTIONS WORLD WAR I SHIPBUILDING REPORTS DRY DOCK LEDGERS DRY DOCK REPORTS LEGAL DOCUMENTS TITLES FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS FINANCIAL RECORDS MAPS, CHARTS, DIAGRAMS, GRAPHS, LISTS, ETC. SHIP TESTS SOUTH YARD SURVEYS |
| Inventory | Box 1 Ledger
Box 2: Dry Dock Reports-South Yard Folders
Box 3: World War I Building Folders
Box 4: World War I Building Folders
Box 5: World War I Building Folders
Box 6: North Yard Folders
Box 7 Folders
Box 8: Labor Correspondence Folders
Box 9 Folders
Box 10 Folders
Box 11: Taxes-Correspondence/Forms Folders
Box 12: Taxes-Correspondence/Forms Folders
Box 13 Folders
Box 14 Folders
Box 15: Financial Ledgers-General, alphabetized and indexed Volumes
Box 16: Ledgers Volumes
Box 17 Volumes
Box 18 Volumes
Box 19 Volumes
Oversize Volumes Wrapped Packages
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