Existing comment:
"This is the great art -- the modern triumph of skill and labor There go the ships."
-- Harper's New Monthly Magazine, April 1878
The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation purchased the Harlan & Hollingsworth shipyard in 1917. The shipyard was then immediately commandeered by the United States Shipping Board-Emergency Fleet Corporation for a massive effort to aid the European Allies in World War I. Called the "bridge of ships," the program required a huge buildup of equipment including the giant cranes seen here lining the riverfront. The yard operated three shifts a day, seven days a week, and turned out nine tankers, fourteen cargo ships, and forty-seven various other vessels.
So much building caused a glut of ships after the War, and a year after this photo was taken in 1925, all shipbuilding on the site had ceased. Bethlehem sold the shipyard to the Dravo Corporation in 1927.
Wooden Boats:
From workboats built for sailing the coastal waterways to schooners for overseas trade, the first ships built in Wilmington were made of wood. The brig Nancy was said to be the first to fly the US flag in a foreign port.
Iron & Steel:
The Bangor, built by Harlan & Hollingsworth, was America's first ocean going iron-hulled propeller steamship. Powered by twin screw propeller engines, the Bangor also had three schooner-rigged masts.
Early Navy War Ships:
During the Civil War, the Union Navy used Wilmington-built ships as blockade gunboats, troop transports and supply vessels. Harlan & Hollingsworth built three Monitor-class warships like this one shown in the 1864 bird's eye view.
America's Cup Yachts:
The Volunteer, built by Pusey & Jones, was the first America's Cup boat built entirely of steel. She easily defeated the Mayflower in 1887 and the British Thistle in 1888.
Ferryboats & Steamers:
At the end of the 19th century, there was a strong market for ferries, both side wheelers and stern wheelers. The excursion steamer Brandywine was built in 1885 for the Wilson Line.
World War I Ships:
Among the warships protecting American convoys were submarine chasers like #345, above, built at the Jackson & Sharp Plant of the American Car & Foundry Company in 1917.
World War II Ships:
The SS Cape Corwin was one of 15 type C1-A cargo vessels built in Wilmington by Pusey & Jones during World War II. |