Special Collections

Built in 1925 during the golden years of American Lakes steamships, the Steamship William G. Mather was the flagship for the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (now Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.), and, at the time, was a state-of-the-art freighter with respect to capacity, power and accommodations. Today, the restored steamer, currently located at the East Ninth Street Pier, is now "northeast Ohio's only floating martime museums" and part of the Great Lakes Science Center.

The collection includes records from Cleveland Cliffs Archives, ship records, personal corporate files and personal papers. Highlights include Ship Logs (1961-1980), Chief Engineer Smooth Logs (1977-1980), United States Coast Guard Certificate of Inspections (1953-1982), Labor Arbitration and Union files (1930’s - 1970’s), Personnel information including employee cards detailing nationality, Injury and Sickness Reports, sample forms, vessel accidents, mechanical details, operational records, reports and charts, and payroll/financial journals and published reports. The collection also includes photographs and slides.