Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority records

The material in the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Collection spans the years from 1895 to the present. The material before 1950 is primarily concerned with the St. Lawrence Seaway, whereas that dated after 1950 pertains to the operation of the Port Authority and construction completed completed at the port.

The collection contains a number of minutes of meetings from 1922-1937, and a virtually complete set from 1946 to the present. The minutes, especially after 1946, contain the dates of the meetings, members present, brief synopses of issues before the board of directors, basic policy decisions, and monthly budget reports (after 1970) which contain detailed information on receipts and expenditures. Also included with procedural material are ordinances, proposals and resolutions involving the city of Toledo and its role in developing the port.

The correspondence covers the years from 1925-1973, with a large part of it from 1955 and 1956. The letters before 1955 deal primarily with support for the St. Lawrence Seaway and ideas on the potential of the port of Toledo for maritime trade. The correspondence during 1955 and 1956 pertains to the establishment of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. The weakness with the correspondence is that there is little after 1956 and none since 1973.

The collection contains three subject files. They involve George Hardy, the St. Lawrence Treaty, and construction at Presque Isle. George Hardy was a great supporter of the port of Toledo and the St. Lawrence Seaway until his death in 1946. This file contains his correspondence, speeches, and newspaper clippings about his efforts on behalf of Toledo. The St. Lawrence Treaty file contains statements in support of a treaty between the United States and Canada for the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The third file deals with the five stages of construction at Presque Isle between 1958-1967 that became Port Authority Facility No. 1. This contains the contracts, correspondence, bids, reports, and change orders that were used during the construction.

There are a number of reports found in the collection. These include annual, board and committee, economic, engineering, monthly, Port of Toledo, and statistical reports. These reports cover what the Port Authority has done each year since 1960, what the economic potential for the port is, what occurred at the port of Toledo for each month from 1947-1955, what the history of the port and its development has been, and the import and export figures for the port during the years from 1964-1975. With the exception of the annual reports they do not run to the present.

The literary productions found in the collection include articles, booklets, magazines, histories, newsletters, sailing schedules, and speeches. These pertain to the promotion of the port and its history. The newsletters provide information on the activities of the Port Authority and are the only literary productions to run to the present.

The collection contains few legal documents, most notably acts, bills, contract documents, and agreements. The acts and bills are those by the city of Toledo, the Ohio Legislature, and the Congress of the United States that affected the Port of Toledo. The contract documents deal with construction at Maumee Bay Marina and maintenance dredging in the harbor. The agreements are between the City of Toledo and various groups and primarily involve land transfers.

There are only a few financial documents found in the collection. These include financial statements from companies interested in construction work at the port and documents detailing minimum wage votes for union workers.

The collection contains a large number of newspaper clippings from 1920-1968 that pertain to the St. Lawrence Seaway, promotion of the port, and the Port Authority. The clippings from 1954-1955 deal with the formation of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and the controversy around it. The majority of the clippings date from 1961-1964. Topics include international commerce, labor relations, shipping statistics, construction projects, politics, and local/regional corporation.

A detailed and fairly complete part of the collection are the drawings and blueprints showing the construction at Presque Isle. Most of the plans are included in addition to those for construction at Maumee Bay Marina and Cullen Park. Included in this part of the collection are charts showing farm product production and maps of Toledo showing planned port construction.

Printed materials in the collection include pamphlets and brochures used for public relations and advertising the Port of Toledo. Included with this are lithographs of classic sailing ships used for advertising purposes.

The final section of the collection contains photographs taken during the construction at Maumee Bay Marina in 1961.