DATES: Ca. 1878
CREATOR: Various
EXTENT: One file folder
SCOPE: This collection contains a very rare broadside printing of Washington Territory’s Pilotage Act of 1868, issued on the tenth anniversary of its passing. The Pilotage Act for Washington Territory regulated ships in the Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait. Piloting regulations began in the United States on an individual basis in the mid-18th century, and by 1789 state responsibility for pilotage was standard when Congress passed a law to that effect. In 1853, when Washington became a territory, it needed to create its own regulations for international vessels trading in the Puget Sound, and after preliminary regulations in the early 1860s, the 1868 Act established a Board of Pilot Commissioners.
The broadside in this collection was printed in 4 columns, with 31 provisions of the 1686 Act, in addition to 15 Bylaw sections of the Board of Pilot Commissioners. The job of the Commissioners was to test, license, and manage official pilots to aid foreign vessels in the complicated navigation of the Puget Sound and Juan de Fuca Strait. In 2018, the Washington State Senate resolved to honor the 150th anniversary of the Act due to its importance to Washington history.
ACCESS: This is collection P-143. 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.
RESTRICTIONS: None
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is "From the collections of the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.”
INVENTORY
One 16” x 10 ½” broadside printing
