Boats and Waterways

A

Anchor Milling Company Records, 1897-1911 (R0110)
(1 roll of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Anchor Milling Company Records contain a microfilm copy of the company’s shipping records. These records include freight lists, cash book, and weekly time book of boats operated on the Osage River by the Anchor Milling Company of Tuscumbia in Miller County, Missouri.

Counties

B

Joe Bachant Papers, 1970s-2000s (CA6575)
5.9 cubic feet, 2 audio cassettes, 2 video cassettes, 1 oversize item

 Finding Aid

The papers of an environmentalist who worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation for much of his career include correspondence, subject files, speeches, photographs, and material concerning the Missouri Stream Team Program. Bachant was involved in preventing the damming of the Meramec River as well as the creation of the Missouri Stream Team Program.

Bird's Warehouse Records, 1830-1836 (R0269)
(1 roll of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Bird’s Warehouse Records contain a microfilm copy of an account ledger of a freight warehouse, steamboat landing, and general merchandise business operated by the Bird family at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River. The warehouse was located at Bird’s Point, Mississippi County, Missouri or at Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois. An index to the accounts is available.

Counties

Branson Metro Club Collection, 1961 (R1067)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a souvenir program for the "Third Annual Taneycomo Outdoor Water Show Boat Races" held on Lake Taneycomo at Branson in Taney County, Missouri, on July 2, 1961.

Counties

Brickey's Landing Store Records, 1937-1943 (R0032)
(1 roll of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Brickey’s Landing Store Records contains a microfilm copy of an account ledger for a general merchandise operation at Brickey’s Landing on the Mississippi River in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. John Compton Brickey Jr. operated the business.

Bill Brush Lantern Slide Collection, ca. 1890-1970 (S1105)
12 cubic feet, 343 lantern slides

 Finding Aid

The Bill Brush Lantern Slide Collection consists mainly of glass lantern slides dating from approximately 1890 to 1970 which provide a visual record of St. Louis and the surrounding area. The slides came from St. Louis Public Schools, Schwarz Taxidermy Studio, and the St. Louis Naturalists Club. Highlights include images of steamships such as the Admiral and the Robert E. Lee, the 1904 World’s Fair, the St. Louis Zoo, and historic buildings in St. Louis. Both photographic images and drawings are used in the slides, and some slides are title cards. Contained with boxes located off-site are images pertaining to major events in United States and world history. Also included are 35mm film slides, and small number of nitrate film photographic negatives.

Counties

C

Cullimore Family Collection, 1878-2020 (R1090)
10.5 cubic feet (276 of folders, 8 CDs, 2 cassette tapes, 828 photographs, 217 negatives, 1 45 record)

 Finding Aid

The Cullimore Family Papers contain the personal and family papers for Donald B. and Lee M. Cullimore and their father Donald G. Cullimore. The papers include personal correspondence, diaries, articles, family research and genealogy, photographs, and local history research. a larger portion of the collection is dedicated to genealogical materials for the family of Lee Cullimore and his wife, Marcia Craddock Cullimore’s family.

E

Evening Star Records, 1867 (C0903)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The records contain a logbook of trips on the Missouri River, giving financial account, conditions, and distances of trips; an advertisement of trips to the Idaho gold fields. Consists of negative photostats and typed copies.

G

Lawrence E. Giffen Collection, no date (CA5844)
9 cubic feet, 1 volume, 3 oversize items

Dissertation proposal, chapters, and research material on steamboat transportation in Missouri. Includes navigation maps of the Missouri River.

Elmer Graham Ferry License, 1897 (C2939)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The collection contains a license giving Graham authority to operate a ferry at Rulo, NE, on the Missouri River for one year.

Edmund Gray Papers, 1831-1955 (C3611)
1.8 cubic feet (97 folders)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Mississippi River pilots’ charts, ships; logs, steamboat directions, and personal papers of Edmund Gray, a resident of Gray’s Point, Scott County, Missouri, and Cape Girardeau and steamboat pilot on the Mississippi for many years.

"Panama and Nicaragua," O.B. Gunn, 1893 (C2853)
0.02 cubic feet (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

Article addressed to Nathan Appleton of Boston, MA, concerning the Panama and Nicaragua canals. OVERSIZE.

H

William L. Heckman Jr. Scrapbooks, 1912-1946 (C1404)
0.71 cubic feet (5 volumes)

 Finding Aid

Scrapbooks compiled by a steamboat pilot from Hermann, MO. Included in the volumes are clippings about steamboats, pilots, life on the river, family members, and local history; poems; a few letters and greeting cards; and photographs of family members, friends, and steamboats.

Counties

J

Johnson Family Collection, 1880-1971 (SP0085)
15 cubic feet (12 folders, 24 volumes)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The Johnson Family Collection consists of photographs, postcards, personal papers, and scrapbooks related to the Johnson and Wood families of Greene and Taney counties. The scrapbooks contain materials related to development sites in southwest Missouri, including the Powersite Dam, the James River Power Station, and the town of Hollister.

K

August Kreilich Papers, 1886 (R0022)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The August Kreilich Papers contain a photocopy of a contract with instructions for August Kreilich regarding being lighthouse keeper. Kreilich was the keeper of the lights at the Saline Rocks on the Mississippi River in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. The contract was issued on March 27, 1886 by the U.S. Light House Establishment.

M

R. J. Martin Papers, 1946-1955 (SP0095)
4 cubic feet (103 folders, 1 oversize folder, 60 photographs)

 Finding Aid

The R. J. Martin Papers contain records, correspondence, contracts, and photographs from Ralph Joseph “Joe” Martin’s tenure as Missouri-Arkansas representative for the United States Department of the Interior Southwest Power Association office in Springfield, Missouri.

Rosco Miselhorn Pencil Sketches of Mississippi River Steamboats, 1946-1962 (S0406)
0.01 cubic foot

This collection contains six prints of pencil sketches of famous riverboats which have plied the Mississippi River and berthed at St. Louis, including Admiral Betsy Ann, Tom Greene, Golden Rod Showboat, River Queen, and Golden Eagle.

Counties

Missouri River Commission Records, 1870-1896 (C4703)
1.0 cubic foot (25 folders), 18 oversize items

 Finding Aid

Log books and maps from U.S. Corps of Engineers survey of the Missouri River. Log books include observations of topography, hand drawn maps, and notes documenting the journeys and dredging operations along the river. The bulk of the collection relates to the upper Missouri River.

N

National Good Roads Association Records, 1903-1904 (R0990)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

These are printed broadside invitation to B.A. McAllaster of the Union Pacific Railroad to attend the National and International Good Roads Convention to be held in St. Louis, Missouri, from April 27 to May 2, 1903, and a letter from A. S. Mann to Charles H. Scott, dated April 11, 1904, concerning the financing of a ship canal.

Counties

P

Parnell Family Collection, 1835-1981 (SP0090)
1.5 cubic feet (26 folders, 361 photographs, 1 oversize box)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

The Parnell Family Collection consists of photographs and personal papers of the Parnell family, as well as related families including the Moore, Thompson, and Wilson families of Taney County, Missouri. The collection also contains early images of Taney and Stone County towns and landscapes.

Counties

John W. Payne Papers, 1940-2023 (C4707)
0.2 cubic foot (3 folders)

 Finding Aid

Memoir written by engineer officer Daniel P. Griffin to honor his commanding officer John W. Payne upon his death in a plane collision over the Grand Canyon in 1956.

Prop-Riders Boat Racing Club of Springfield, Missouri Collection, 1961 (R1046)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a program booklet for boat races presented by the Pro-Riders Boat Racing Club of Springfield, Missouri, at Kimberling City on Table Rock Lake in Stone County, Missouri, on September 24, 1961. Included are a schedule of events, contestants for Miss Table Rock Lake, and advertisements for area businesses.

Counties

S

Dorothy Heckmann Shrader Papers, 1866-1976 (CA5925)
6 cubic feet

 Finding Aid

The papers of a Hermann, Missouri, writer and descendant of steamboat captain, Bill Heckmann. Includes newspaper clippings of happenings along Missouri’s waterways dating from the late 1800s to mid-1900s. Also includes genealogical information on the Heckmann family, maps of Missouri's rivers, and a few photographs of steamboats and river scenes.

Counties

Fritz Smith Papers, 1892-1900 (R0373)
0.03 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

The Fritz Smith Papers contain photocopies of a daily record of water levels on the Mississippi River at New Madrid, Missouri, November 22, 1892 to August 31, 1900. There are also occasional notes on the weather, river conditions, and steamboats.

Springfield Yacht Club Collection, 1939 (R0941)
(1 folder)

 Finding Aid

These are official race programs for outboard-engine motorboat races held on Lake Taneycomo at Branson in Taney County, Missouri, on June 4 and September 9-10, 1939. The Springfield Yacht Club sponsored the regattas.

Counties

Sverdrup & Parcel And Associates Land Use Report, 1976 (S0408)
0.01 cubic foot

A report commissioned by the St. Louis Port Commission.

Counties

T

James T. Thorp Scrapbooks, 1840-1955 (C1429)
1.5 cubic feet

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Materials collected and organized by Thorp as histories of the Missouri River, steamboats, and Miami, MO. Includes photographs, newspaper clippings, bills, receipts, excerpts from the MIAMI WEEKLY NEWS, and miscellaneous items.

Counties

E.B. Trail Collection, 1858-1965 (C2071)
4.2 cubic feet (279 folders, 62 volumes)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Correspondence, bills of lading, notes, photographs, clippings, periodicals, scrapbooks, account books, freight books, cabin registers, and portage books of E.B. Trail, collector of the history and memorabilia of steamboating on the Missouri River and its tributaries.

E.B. Trail Photograph Collection, 1845-1963 (P0021)
1.1 cubic feet (513 photographs)

 Digitized Materials

 Finding Aid

Dr. E. B. Trail, St. Louis was a collector of steamboat images and articles, which he kept in scrapbooks. Includes images of steamboats, rivers, and other boating-related scenes.

William Turner Collection, n.d. (CA6593)
1.4 cubic feet

Research material collected by Turner for the book Voices of Missouri's Rivers.

V

Harry Anton Voight Papers, 1918-1951 (R1166)
1 cubic foot (26 folders, 419 photographs)

The Harry Anton Voight Papers contain the photocopies and original papers of a marine engineer, steamboat inspector, and Coast Guard officer who spent most of his career working on the Ohio River. Included are applications for federal positions, papers concerning service in the Marine Inspection Service and Coast Guard, photographs of the Ohio River flood of 1945, and personal papers.

Counties

W

Weiss Family Papers, 1906-1919 (CG0048)
0.02 c.f.

 Finding Aid

The Weiss Family Papers contains ten postcards of the 1906 Cape Girardeau, Missouri, centennial and fourteen postcards of correspondence between Clara Weiss Masters and Wilson Masters from 1909 to 1919.

Clarence Boyce Wright Papers, 1912-1926 (R0236)
(5 rolls of microfilm)

 Finding Aid

The Clarence Boyce Wright Papers contain microfilm copies of the diaries of Clarence Boyce Wright, a native of Tuscumbia, Miller County, Missouri, and an employee of Anchor Milling Company. Wright worked in the mill at Tuscumbia and as a clerk aboard the company towboat Ruth. The diary entries note events in Miller County and along the Osage River, weather and river conditions, and the milling company business.

Counties

Z

John Ziegler Papers, 1847 (R1055)
0.01 cubic foot (1 folder)

 Finding Aid

This is a letter dated October 21, 1847 from John Ziegler (for S. Ziegler) at Sainte Genevieve in Sainte Genevieve County, Missouri, to James Harrison at Iron Mountain in St. Francois County, Missouri. It concerns shipments of iron ore and "pigs" from Iron Mountain to steamboats on the Mississippi river at Sainte Genevieve.