Boat unloading mail in New York Harbor
Mail boat unloading mail from ocean liner
Mail was transferred from the liner down a chute to the harbor mail boat.
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At the turn of the century the harbor of New York bustled with docking ocean liners, but the majority of
these steamers didn't have any foreign mail aboard when they tied up. It had been offloaded miles away and
hours before. Beginning in 1897, incoming liners were met at the Quarantine Station in New York Bay, where
they were detained for health inspection. There, while health officials examined the passengers and crew,
the steamships were relieved of the mail.
The foreign mail, which had been sorted and sacked on the high seas for distribution in the United States,
was literally dumped into the hold of a special mail vessel. Then it was hastily shipped to shore where it
was forwarded directly to the city post office, loaded aboard waiting railway mail cars, or transferred to
other steamships. This novel service was established on July 1, 1897. Initially, the steamer Peekskill,
operated under contract to the Post Office Department by the Starin Transportation Lines, was the backbone
of this service.
Later, the mail tender Postmaster General was used in place of the Peekskill. But, by
September 1909 the Harbor Boat Service had grown to such proportions that an additional boat
was required. Up to that time the Postmaster General had been almost exclusively used to meet
incoming European ocean liners. However, the number of steamships plying the European routes
made it impossible for a single mail tender to keep pace with the mail traffic.
When the second boat, the 167 foot President, was subsequently added mail from incoming
South American, as well as European ocean liners, was picked up. Postal officials were
extremely pleased with the performance of the boat mail service. Having more than one mail
ship made a big difference. In addition to handling the South American mails, if a transatlantic
steamer arrived with a heavy mail load it could be served by both mail boats.
The mail could be separated on the steamship so that mails destined for New York City could be dumped onto
the tender, while the mails for other destinations in the United States could be offloaded onto the second boat.
The mails for New York, for example, were sacked for 44 stations in the city and additional breakdowns for other
destinations also were made in accordance with a schedule which included 128 distinct separations.
Harbor Boat Service was suspended April 20, 1917 due to the first World War. Limited service was resumed on April 1, 1921.
This time the harbor boats were operated under contract with the New York Central Railroad Company. Following the reintroduction
of the service the operating base of the harbor mails was moved to Pier 72, North River. This pier was served by train tracks so
that railway mail cars could be brought right to the docking area.
Harbor Boat Service was terminated on April 15, 1937. Changes in public health practices made it unnecessary for most of the
ocean steamships to be boarded by health inspectors at Quarantine.
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Illustration of clerks moving mail in cargo hold
The President mail boat
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