The Delaware Ship and Boat Building Industry, 1830-19404: an Historic Context
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The Delaware Ship and Boat Building Industry, 1830-19404: An Historic Context Dean A. Doerrfeld with David L. Ames Bernard L..Herman Rebecca J. Siders Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy University of Delaware Newark, Delaware July 1994 The University of Delaware is committed to assuring equal opportunity to all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, veteran or handicapped status, or sexual orientation in its educational programs, activities, admissions, or employment practices as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Executive Order 11246 as amended, 38 USC 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes, Inquiries concerning Title IX, Section 503 compliance and information regarding campus accessibility and Title VI should be referred to the Affirmative Action Office, 307 Hullihen Hall (302) 831- 2835. The activity that is the subject of this document has been financed in part with federal funds from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior. This program receives Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties,.Under 'Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the lnterior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or handicap in its federally assisted programs..If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office for Equal Opportunity U..S. Department of the lnterior Washington, D..C. 20240 CONTENTS List of Figures v Preface viii I Introduction 1 The National Register of Historic Places and the Delaware Historic Preservation Plan 1 Definition of the Historic Context 3 Research Design 8 11. National Trends in Ship and Boat Building 10 The Development of the Wooden Shipbuilding lndustry 10 The Development of the lron and Steel Shipbuilding lndustry 16 111. The Construction of Small Wooden Water Craft 26 Small Craft of the 'Tidal Marshes 29 Coastal and Deep Water Craft 40 Boat Yards as Property Types 53 Evaluation Criteria Related to Wooden Boat Yards 56 IV. The Wooden Shipbuilding lndustry 61 'Technology of Wooden Shipbuilding 61 The Wooden Ship Yard 100 Ship Yards as Property Types 132 Evaluation Criteria Related to Wooden Ship Yards 143 V.. The lron and Steel Shipbuilding lndustry 152 The Impact of lron and Steel Ships on Ship Yards 152 lron and Steel Ship Yards as Property Types 156 Evaluation Criteria Related to Iron and Steel Ship Yards 164 VI. Associative Property Types for Ship and Boat Building 170 Raw Materials 170 Specialized Products 174 Support Services and Housing 183 Evaluation Criteria Related to Associative Property Types 189 VII.. Goals and Priorities for the Ship and Boat Building Historic Context and Property Types 191 Goals and Priorities for Identification Activities 191 Goals and Priorities for Evaluation Activities 192 Goals and Priorities for Registration Activities 193 Goals and Priorities for Treatment Activities 194 Selected Bibliography 197 Appendix A: Catalog of Known Ship and Boat Yards in Delaware 201 Appendix B:: Excerpts from the United States Census of Manufactures, 1850-1880 208 Appendix C:: Finder's Guide to Historic Context Elements 218 List of Figures Framework of Historic Context Elements 4 Geographic Zones 5 Oyster signs in Philadelphia 28 Bateau on the Delaware River 30 Bateau with shad skiff and floating cabins 32 Bateau, Odessa vicinity, circa 1976 33 Bob Beck in double-ended gunning skiff 36 Stereopticon view of a Delaware ducker 38 Work boats at Bowers Beach, 1922 43 Aerial photograph of Seaford Boat Works, circa 1925 44 Sanborn Map of Seaford Boat Works, 1931 45 Boat shop at Seaford Boat Works 47 Workshop at Thompson Boat Works 48 Marine railway 49 Transfer table 50 Boat's dolly 52 Boat shop at Seaford Boat Works, 1944 55 Typical boat yard forge 57 Schooner constructed by Jackson & Sharp 62 Tanker constructed by Jackson & Sharp 63 The schooner Jesse W. Star, 1874 64 Barge constructed by Jackson & Sharp 65 Ferry, Sandy Hook, circa 1880 66 Unfinished workboat hull 67 Yacht for the E.I. duPont Company 68 Draft of a floating bath house 69 Sail plan for a four-mast schooner 71 Keel construction 73 Stem and stern posts 74 Open and closed system of fabricating frames 75 Placement and fabrication of a keelson 76, 77 Heavy iron or steel rods, called bolts 78 The basic structural components of a wooden vessel 79 Beams, lodging knees, and carlings 81 Devices to position planks before securing them 82 Beveling and seating hull and ceiling planking 83 Treenails or trunnels 84 Method of fastening planks with hand-made spikes 85 Caulking a seam in the hull of a wooden ship 87 Jackson & Sharp decking crew 88 Sheerlegs 90, 91 Plans of the Nathan at Dorcbester 92 Rabbeting the keel 94 Chine logs of the Nathan of Dorchester 95 Attaching bottom planking 96 Strakes, or hull planks 97 Midship strongback and battens 98 The camber, or arc, of a deck beam 99 Launching the Albert F, Paul 101 The Albert F. Paul 102 Ship yard details, such as launching ways and structures 103 Barge launching at Jackson & Sharp, 1921 105 Sanborn map showing the Abbott yard in 1930 106 Sanborn map showing the Abbott yard in 1910 107 Sanborn map showing Abbott's yard in 1919 108 'The Abbott Shipbuilding Company circa 1910 109 Abbott's yard, taken between 1907 and 1913 110 ''lilt-frame" saw 111 Ships built by several generations of Abbotts 114 Vinyard's ship yard, Sanborn map, 1930 116 Vinyard Shipbuilding Company buildings, 1910 117 The Vinyard ship yard in 1919 118 Covered shop at Vinyards 119 Steel framing system of Vinyard shop 120 Boiler house and compressor shed 121 Woodworking shop 122 Carpenter's shop 123 Office Building at the Vinyard Shipbuilding Company 124 Circa 1916 view of the Vinyard Shipbuilding Company 125 Sanborn map depicting Lank's ship yard 128 Lank's yard as it appeared in 1910 129 Undated photograph of Nathaniel Lank's ship yard 130 Site of nineteenth-century ship yard 131 Launching ways of a typical ship yard 134 Way at the Abbott ship yard, 1910s 135 Structural system of a covered way or shop 136 Saw and planing mill of Vinyard Shipbuilding Company 137 Power tools used in ship construction 138 Ship yard storage building 140 Floating stage in use repairing large schooner 141 Floating stage, 1994 142 Gantry crane at Jackson & Sharp, 1927 144 Derricks at Jackson & Sharp, 1912 145 Steam winch 146 Metal working tools of Vinyard ship yard 148 The William W. Ker 150 Ship yard scaffolding, 1918 151 Harlan & Hollingsworth, 1886 159 Harlan & Hollingsworth, 1884 162 Harlan & Hollingsworth, 1901 165 Rope walk 172 Twisting multiple strands 173 Sparmaker's plan 175 Shipwrights working on masts 176 Tools used by mast and sparmakers 177,178 Ship's block 180 Blockmaker's tools 181 Upholsterer's tools 182 Sail loft shown on Sanborn map, 1901 184 Sail plan from Jackson & Sharp 185 Sailmaker's tools 186 Workers housing 188 vii PREFACE This project was undertaken in response to priorities set by the Delaware State Historic Preservation Review Board for the Historic Preservation Fund in FY 1993. The board placed a priority on development of historic contexts dealing with the maritime industries of the state.. This context covers just one of those industries--ship and boat building between 1830 and 1940. The Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering (CHAE), University of Delaware, received a matching funds grant from the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office (DESHPO) to carry out the project between Spetember 1993 and July 1994. Bernard L. Herman and Rebecca Siders acted as principal investigators for the project, but graduate student Dean Doerrfeld carried out most of the research and fieldwork and authored major sections of the report. David Ames also contributed to the context, particularly the sections on iron and steel ships. Graduate assistant Kate Krizan helped with documentary research and fieldwork.. The authors would particularly like to thank those people who furthered our research by allowing us to observe while they built boats, helped identify potential sites of early ship and boat yards, and consented to be interviewed regarding their experiences in Delaware ship and boat building yards. viii I. Introduction This historic context develops criteria for the evaluation of the physical remains of the ship and boatbuilding industry in Delaware between 1830 and 1940 to determine their significance and potential eligibility for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. By examining technology, the construction process of ships and boats, and ship yard organization, this historic context will explore a segment of Delaware's industrial heritage that reached numerous cities and towns along Delaware's coastal waterways and extended well beyond the Brandywine River in the north (traditionally thought of as the industrial center of Delaware). The National Register of Historic Places and the Delaware Historic Preservation Plan The National Register of Historic Places, established by Congress in 1966, is the nation's inventory of historic resources worthy of preservation and the repository of documentation on the nation's wide variety of historical property types, containing information on issues such as significance, abundance, and condition.