Subordinate Offices/Records of the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds: Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds, 1875-1911: Finding Aid
Published in July 2020
Summary Information
- Publisher: United States Naval Academy. Special Collections & Archives.
- Publisher Address:
589 McNair Road
Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5029, USA
Phone: 410-293-6922
https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/index.php - Call number: RG 405.5.2 Entry 181
- National Archives Identifier: 3164804
- Location: Special Collections & Archives Department - Archives
- Title: Subordinate Offices/Records of the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds: Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds
- Dates: 1875-1911
- Size: 4.59 linear feet
- Container Summary: 11 manuscript boxes containing 41 volumes.
- Creator: United States Naval Academy. Office of the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds
- Language(s) of material: English
- Abstract: This series contains correspondence relating to ordering and delivery of supplies and training and construction materials; repairs to and construction of buildings and maintenance of the Academy grounds; and the progress of work completed by construction contractors employed in architect Ernest Flagg's rebuilding of the Naval Academy.
History of the Office of Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds
Between 1867 and 1911 the responsibility for overseeing buildings and grounds at the Academy was assumed by officers assigned to the Academy to take charge of buildings and grounds or by senior aides or assistants to the Superintendent. From 1867 to 1875 authority over buildings and grounds was assumed by the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds; from 1875 to 1878 by the senior aide to the Superintendent; and from 1884 to 1911 by the assistant to the Superintendent in charge of buildings and grounds. Officers assisting the Superintendent also had charge of purchases and accounts relating to public property at the Academy and workmen employed in the buildings and on the grounds.
Description of Contents
The records from 1875 to 1886 consist of letters and memoranda relating to various supplies and equipment: coal, paint, rugs and carpets, fixtures, cloth, furniture, ships' equipment and furnishings; building materials including lumber, stone, glass, iron, and bricks; steam and gas works' equipment including coils, pipes, fittings, and fixtures; ordnance material including grapeshot, artillery, and various other ammunition types. Other correspondence from the aforementioned years address groundskeeping tools, bushes, shrubbery, and trees. Much of this earlier correspondence regards shipments of such supplies via the steamboat Phlox. Occasionally there are recorded regulations and notices issued by the Superintendent concerning buildings, grounds, and employment of laborers; proposals and plans for improving processes, such as obtaining coal; and copies of memoranda listing required repairs to buildings and grounds. The records for 1875 through 1886 contain reports, filed in the first week of each month, documenting expenditures for supplying the Academy with coal.
The volumes from 1895 to 1911 almost exclusively relate to work connected with the rebuilding of the Naval Academy and its infrastructure. These records mainly consist of reports and correspondence addressing a variety of construction-related subjects including: correspondence with architect Ernest Flagg regarding construction plans and specifications; annual reports, normally filed in June or July, on the state of old buildings and new construction; weekly and daily reports to the Superintendent documenting the progress of work completed by contractors engaged in construction throughout the yard. Miscellaneous subjects covered in the 1895 to 1911 period include: disputes with contractors and labor; the inspection and test of construction materials; the purchase of land and property for the expansion of the Academy grounds; problems encountered during construction of new buildings; lighting and laying of underground power and telephone lines; the paving of roads; requests to the Superintendent for issuance of building and grounds-related orders; erection and donation of memorials, and reservation of plots and placing of memorials in the Naval Academy cemetery. Letters from 1895 to 1896 document the deterioration and recommended condemnation of various old buildings on the yard. Volume 484 contains monthly line-item budgets for materials, labor, repairs, watchmen and other items from 1904 to 1908.
Officers in Charge of Buildings and Grounds in this series:
- Commander Norman Von Heidreich Farquhar, 1875-1877
- Commander Samuel Dana Greene, 1878-1879
- Professor Omenzo George Dodge, 1895- September, 1909
- Commander Robert Edward Coontz, October, 1909-1911
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically. Name indexes are in volumes 77, 443-459, 483, 500, and 502.
Access and Use
Access
Access is unrestricted.
Copyright and Permission
Generally, materials produced by Federal agencies are in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission. Any non-government publications held herein may still be subject to copyright. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Volume 498 has been water soaked and contains many letters that are partially illegible.
Other Finding Aid(s)
National Archives Catalog entry available electronically at: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3164804.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Custodial History
RG 405 Records of the United States Naval Academy is the property of the National Archives and Records Administration. The materials are housed at the United States Naval Academy, William W. Jeffries Memorial Archives, an affiliated archive, as per a Memorandum of Agreement between the National Archives and Records Administration and the United States Naval Academy.
Related Materials
Related Archival Material
Press copies of correspondence relating to claims of companies under contract to construct buildings designed by architect Ernest Flagg from 1904 to 1907 are found in Entry 182: "Press Copies of Letters and Memorandums Sent Relating to Claims for Companies Under Contract for Academy Buildings (Claims of Contractor Versus Government) 1904-1907" (NAID:3164808). For a register of costs for work performed at Academy buildings from 1882 to 1884 see Entry 183: "Register of Cost of Work Performed at Academy Installations (Record of Work), 1882-1884" (NAID: 3164811).
Materials Cataloged Separately
No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.
Processing and Other Information
Preferred Citation
Subordinate Offices/Records of the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds: Press Copies of Letters Sent by the Officer in Charge of Buildings and Grounds, RG 405.5.2 Entry 181
Special Collections & Archives Department
Nimitz Library
United States Naval Academy
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Samuel Limneos in July 2020. Finding aid written by Samuel Limneos in July 2020. Part of Historical Sketch and Scope and Content Note prepared by Geraldine N. Phillips and Aloha South in 1975.
Subject Headings
Name and Subject Terms
- Coontz, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1864-1935
- Dodge, Omenzo George
- Farquhar, Norman Von Heidreich, 1840-1907
- Flagg, Ernest, 1857-1947
- Greene, Samuel Dana, 1839-1884
- United States Naval Academy
- United States Naval Academy -- Buildings -- Maintenance and repair
- United States Naval Academy -- Buildings and grounds
- United States Naval Academy -- History -- 19th century
- United States Naval Academy -- History -- 20th century
- United States Naval Academy -- Monuments -- Maintenance and repair
- United States Naval Academy. Superintendent
Genre Terms
- Correspondence
- Reports