NINETEENTH CENTURY WOODEN SHIPBUILDING ON LONG ISLAND

Richard Welch via Zoom

The United States became the world’s leading ship manufacturer as the production of wooden vessels reached its qualitative and quantitative peak in the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century. Several villages on the indented north shore of Suffolk County played an active role in the industry, supplying craft for the cotton, California, Mediterranean, whaling, and coastal trade. Unlike shipbuilding in the great cities which was virtually extinct by the end of the Civil War, Suffolk shipbuilding, though declining, survived into the early years of the twentieth century.

This PowerPoint presentation will explore the evolution of the industry on Long Island, its local and regional importance, and the entrepreneurs who led it, including Jesse Carll, famed shipbuilder of Northport, Long Island, who advertised “New Work a Specialty: Ships, Yachts, Schooners, Sloops, &c., contracted for and built with all necessary dispatch.”

[A Zoom link will be sent to you prior to each session, typically on the day before your class and the morning of your class.  If you have any questions or need help getting online, feel free to call us at 516-480-5733 and we’ll get right back to you with assistance.]