SCOPE: Includes clippings from The Waterways Journal and other publications, reports from government agencies and corporations, and reports and commentary on issues of importance to the waterways community.
The Waterways Journal research collection materials are arranged into 16 series:
- General
- Biographies
- Boat Information
- River Columns
- Lock and Dam 26
- Periodicals
- Ports and Terminals
- Railroads
- Scrapbooks
- St. Louis
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission
- User Charges
- U.S. Government documents
- Photographs
- Oversized Materials
The Waterways Journal collections include editorial research files dating from the 1890s, and cover a broad array of waterway topics such as national water use and transportation policy, competition with other forms of transportation, port development, and environmental concerns. Government agencies, establishing policy and regulating waterways; and private organizations, lobbying on behalf of waterway development, influence the course of the rivers. Their interaction and influence are well documented.
HISTORY: The Waterways Journal, founded in 1887, is America's oldest continuously published inland waterways trade magazine. Current issues reflect today's barge and towing industry. It follows the history and development of river transportation and has long been known as "The Riverman's Bible."
The indexing of this collection was made possible through contributions from the Waterways Journal, the J. Mack Gamble Fund, and the National Waterways Foundation.
EXTENT: 219 linear feet of papers, pamphlets, booklets, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings, government documents, environmental impact statements and scrapbooks (which were the editorial research files of the publishers, editors, and writers). Microfilm copies of The Waterways Journal periodical from 1891 to the present and bound volumes from 1924 until the present.
ACCESS: This is Special Collection P-001. This collection is available for on-site use only in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the collection may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, depending on condition. Researchers are advised to call ahead concerning changes in hours due to University intersessions and holidays. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building. More information about conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page.
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is "From the Collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.”
INVENTORY:
Contact the curator for a collection inventory and further information about the collection.
An online index of The Waterways Journal articles is available for the years 1891- 1916, 1951-53, and 1980. Some years are currently being indexed and will be made available as they are processed.
Also available is a database of the Editorial Research Files of The Waterways Journal Research Files.
Capt. Donald T. Wright The Waterways Journal Editor and Publisher, 1921-1965, and and Sam Smith
RELATED COLLECTIONS:
P-26: Donald T. Wright Collection
