Philadelphia History Museum
Corporation photographs of Hog Island shipyard
25
Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Sarah
Leu through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden
Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories.
Table of Contents
Summary Information...3
Biography/History... 4
Scope and Contents... 4
Administrative Information... 5
Related Materials... 6
Summary Information
Repository Philadelphia History Museum
Creator American International Shipbuilding Corporation
Title American International Shipbuilding Corporation photographs of Hog Island shipyard
Call number 25
Date [inclusive] 1917-1920
Extent 1.5 linear feet
General Physical Description note
6 boxes
Language English
Abstract The Hog Island Shipyard was constructed on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1917 to 1918 in response to the United States' need for cargo and troop transport ships after it entered World War I. At the time, Hog Island was the largest shipyard in the world and the first to use an assembly-line process on such a large scale. From the time of the shipyard's completion in 1918 until its closing in 1921, 122 ships were built. As of 2014, Philadelphia International Airport sits on most of the land once occupied by the shipyard. The Hog Island photographs, 1917-1920, consist of about 2,000 photographs from de-constructed photo albums by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation documenting the construction of the Hog Island Shipyard and its operations.
Biography/History
The United States government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) in 1917, just days after entering World War I, and hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate a shipyard for the construction of merchant ships. Hog Island Shipyard, built near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from December 1917 to Spring 1918, would become the largest shipyard in the world. It spanned 846 acres, with 50 shipways and 250 buildings, at its peak employing 35,000 workers and launching a vessel every 5.5 days. Rather than a traditional shipyard, Hog Island was more an like an assembly center that made use of prefabricated parts mass-produced elsewhere. By the time the yard was closed in 1921, 122 ships had been built there.
The City of Philadelphia purchased the abandoned shipyard in 1930 and used financing from the Works Progress Administration to construct the Philadelphia Municipal Airport on part of that land and nearby Tinicum Township. Another portion of the former island was used as an ammunition depot from 1940 until 1958, when it was converted into a marine petroleum discharging terminal.
Bibliography:
Lawrence, John W. "Hog Island." In The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Accessed November 21, 2014. http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/hog-island/.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. "Photograph of Hog Island." In the exhibition
On the Water. Accessed November 21, 2014. http://amhistory.si.edu/onthewater/collection/
TR_335550.2.html.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of about 2,000 photographs from de-constructed photo albums created by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to document the construction of the Hog Island Shipyard (1917-1918) and its operations. The photos are captioned and show images of building roads, trenching for water and sewage pipes, and other infrastructure construction; the shipyard's hospital, training school, offices, and other buildings; the Hog Island Hotel and post office; views of the river and all of the yard's shipways; ships in various building phases and detailed images of shipbuilding techniques and processes using the assembly line and pre-fabricated parts; completed ships, detail shots of various parts of the interior and exterior of completed ships, ship launchings, ships leaving Hog Island, and
images of the ships at numerous international ports; and construction workers, ship builders, war veterans, shipyard guards, post office workers, hospital employees, and various other people who worked in the shipyard or on Hog Island.
model of a ship.
Administrative Information
Philadelphia History Museum
Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Sarah Leu through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories.
Sponsor
This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Access Restrictions
Contact Philadelphia History Museum for information about accessing this collection.
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
Gift of Federal Maritime Commission, 1939 (accession 39.8)
Processing Information Note
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2012-2014 as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Philadelphia History Museum directly for more information.
Related Materials
Related Archival Materials Note
Independence Seaport Museum: Hog Island Photographic Collection, 1917-1918.
Some photographs may be available at the Philadelphia City Archives and/or the National Archives at Philadelphia.
Controlled Access Headings
Corporate Name(s)
• American International Shipbuilding Corporation • United States. Federal Maritime Commission
Geographic Name(s)
• Hog Island (Philadelphia, Pa.) • Philadelphia (Pa.) Subject(s) • Shipbuilding • Shipbuilding industry • Shipyards • World War, 1914-1918
