Texas Steamship Company ~ Shipbuilding History

Texas Steamship Company

Bath ME

Most recent update: May 12, 2016.

Texas Steamship Company, a division of the Texas Company (better known as Texaco), was a WWI emergency yard that occupied property previously used by two famous builders of full-rigged ships and schooners. The northern half of their property was originally developed in 1866 by Guy C. Goss & Elijah F. Sawyer, operating as Goss & Sawyer (GS in the table below). In 1873, Goss and Sawyer joined with Benjamin F. Packard to form Goss, Sawyer & Packard (GSP), operating in the southern half of the Goss & Sawyer property. This strange arrangement lasted until 1884, when the two operations were combined as New England Shipbuilding Co. This yard was on Bowery Street, north of its juncture with Front Street. It closed in 1906. The southern half of Texas Steamship's property was originally developed in the early 19th century by Freeman Clark and William D. Sewall as Clark, Sewall & Co. In 1854, the company was taken over by Sewall's sons, Edward and Arthur, and became E. & A. Sewall: then in 1879 Edward died and it became Arthur Sewall & Co. This yard was on Front Street, between Cedar and Bowery. It closed in 1903. In 1916, Texas Steamship bought the New England Shipbuilding property and leased the Arthur Sewall property, combined the two and developed a shipyard for the construction of steel ships. See it from the air on Google here - it's the stretch between the abandoned foundation and that oblique t-shaped pier: the stubs of the pilings of the building ways and piers are clearly visible. Texas Steamship closed at the end of 1921: in its four-year life, it built 15 ships, 4 tugs and 16 barges, an impressive performance.

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	O/N	Name	Customer	Type	GT	LOA	Delivered	Notes
Built either by Goss & Sawyer (GS) or by Goss, Sawyer & Packard (GSP)
GS	15429	Lizzie H		bark	896		1868
GS	75329	James Ford		schooner	628		1871
GS		Besse		bark	842		1871
GS	125031	Charles H. Lawrence		schooner	621		1872
GS		John H. Kimball		ship	1,266		1873
GS	105284	Alfred Brabrook		schooner	562		1873
GS		B. B. Church		schooner	513		1873
GS	125200	Charles F. Sampson		schooner	534		1873
GS		Ralph M. Hayward		schooner	487		1873
GS	80359	William H. Jourdain		schooner	497		1873
GS	2901	B. P. Cheney	Naknek Packing	ship	1,322		1874	later bark
GS		E. H. Kingsman		bark	1,112		1874
GS	27009	Xenia		bark	1,174		1874	later barge Bradley
	125391	City of Philadelphia	W. F. Hagar & Co.	full-rigged ship	1,457		1875	wrecked in the Falklands 1896
		Alameda			1,474		1876
		Belle of Oregon	William H. Besse		1,110		1876
GS	159956	Palmyra		ship	1,359		1876	later barge
	75841	John & Winthrop	Union Steamship Co.	whaler	338		1876	scuttled
	95486	Hecla	Red Salmon Canning	barkentine	1,529		1877	scrapped 1928
GS		Florence		3-masted ship	1,684		1877	inactive 1902
	125691	Charles B. Kenney		bark	1,128		1878	missing 1886
GSP	85542	Gerard C. Tobey	Welch & Co.	bark	1,459		1878	wrecked 1914
GS	91128	Mount Desert	Boston & Bangor SS	passenger	457		1879	later Arion 1911, scrapped 1914
	85602	Guy C. Goss	bark Guy C. Goss Inc.	bark	1,572		1879
GSP	91165	Mary and Helen		whaler	420		1879	exploded and burned 1881
GS	125710	Charles A. Briggs	Jacob B. Phillips	3-masted schooner	757		1879	sank off Nahant 1898
	3126	Belvedere	W. Lewis	whaler	440		1880	wrecked off Cape Serdge 1919
GSP	80770	William L. White	Jacob B. Phillips	4-masted schooner	996		1880	The first true 4-masted schooner, sank 1882
GSP	115856	State of Maine	W. N. Kilby	passenger	1,410		1881	later Edgemont 1904, Cape May 1915, burned 1925
GS	145257	Tacoma		3-masted ship	1,738		1881	foundered 1918
	80944	Walker Armington		steamer	913		1882	wrecked in Chesapeake Bay 1897
	91465	Mary & Helen		whaler	508		1882	later Beluga 1886, sunk by gunfire 1917
	120509	Fanny E. Wolston	F. C. Curtis	3-masted schooner	295		1882	abandoned off Cape Hatteras 1891; last seen drifting off USEC 1894
GSP	85751	George S. Homer		aux. Bark	1,334		1882
GS		Charles E. Moody		ship	2,203		1882
	76389	Jeanie		passenger	1,072		1883	wrecked in the Calvert Islands 1913
	145343	Thrasher		whaler	512		1883	later barkentine Kamchatka 1920, burned 1921
	76395	Jesse H. Freeman	Boston Fruit Co.	freighter	516		1883	later a whaler, crushed in Arctic ice 1897
GSP	80954	William H. Smith		3-masted schooner	2,004		1883	wrecked 1933 in Monterey CA
GS	76452	John R. Kelley	John R. Kelley	full-rigged ship	2,364		1883	wrecked 1899
	140696	Lorenzo D. Baker		steamer	966		1884	burned 1889
GSP	3270	Benjamin F. Packard	John R. Kelley	full-rigged ship	2,130		1884	scuttled 1939
Built by New England Shipbuilding Co.
	106260	Al-Ki	Border Line Transportation	passenger	1,259		1884	wrecked off Point Augusta, 1917
	91705	Morning Star		passenger	471		1884	later Herman 1903, Chapultepec 1926, burned 1927 off Manzanillo
	126230	Charles W. Church		3-masted schooner	844		1884
	126239	C. A. White		3-masted schooner	832		1884
		Hotspur		3-masted ship	1,309		1885	no longer operating 1887
	95844	Haytian Republic		passenger	1,421		1885	later Portland 1894, wrecked 1910 off Katalla I. AK
	126281	Cumberland		passenger	1,606		1885	later Larchmont 1902, in collision and sank 1907 off Block Island
	81128	William Baylies	William Lewis & Son	whaler	380		1886	crushed in ice 1908 off Anadyr Bay, Siberia
	116098	Sappho	Maine Central Railroad	ferry	275		1886	later Pawtucket 1920, hulked 1942
	91850	Mount Waldo	New York & Maine Granite	freighter	324		1886	foundered 1895 off Mexico
	126396	Childe Harold		schooner	781		1886	sunk by u-boat 1917 off Ushant
	81141	Winthrop	New York, Maine & NB S.S. Co	passenger	1,433		1887	burned 1893 off Eastport ME
	116211	Sagamore	J. W. Slater	yacht	323		1888	burned 1925 off Halifax NS
	92139	Marguerite	William Chase, Jr.	4-masted schooner	1,553		1888	sunk by u-boat 1917 off Sardinia
	116212	S. C. Allen		bark	690		1888	wrecked 1913 on Diamond Head
	85995	Gracie D. Buchanan		schooner	1,140		1888	stranded 1910
	96010	Henry S. Little		4-masted schooner	1,098		1889	later Monte Rosa, foundered 1920 off Cape Verde I.
	14484	Kennebec	Kennebec Steam Boat Co	passenger	1,652		1889	later Iroquois 1912, Iro 1919, burned 1924
	150488	Portland	Portland S.P. Co	passenger	2,284		1890	foundered 1898 off Truro MA
	106780	Addie M. Anderson		4-masted schooner	934		1890
	141106	Laura C. Anderson		4-masted schooner	1,960		1890	sunk by u-boat 1917 off Barfleur
	136117	Edith Olcott	Pendleton Bros.	4-masted schooner	1,194		1890	sunk 1910
	126613	Cottage City	Maine S.S. Co	passenger	1,885		1890	hull built for BIW, wrecked 1911 off Willow Point BC
	92280	Manhattan	Maine S.S. Co	passenger	1,892		1891	hull built for BIW, burned 1910 off Portland ME
	120903	Frank Jones	Portland, Mt Desert & Machias Co	passenger	1,634		1892	hull built for BIW, Fenimore 1916, to USN 1918 as ID-2681, burned 1918 off York VA
	3645	Bay State	J. B. Coyle	passenger	2,211		1894	wrecked 1916 off Portland ME
	3662	Bayard Hopkins		schooner	269		1895
	86359	Goodwin Stoddard	Charles G. Sanford	4-masted schooner	887		1895	later Dorothy, abandoned 1930 in Shackford Cove
	116683	Salacia	Maine Coast Navigation	passenger	322		1895	hull built for BIW, Norfolk-on-the-Roads
	116698	St. Croix	International S.S. Co	passenger	1,994		1895	burned 1909 off Santa Barbara CA
	141499	Lincoln	Kennebec Steamboat Co	passenger freighter	966		1897	later Martinique 1900, Kentucky 1906, foundered 1910
	111199	Rachel W. Stevens		schooner	1,211		1898	foundered 1924
	3803	Bath	Bee Line Transportation	schooner barge	926		1899	later 780
	3806	Bangor	Bee Line Transportation	schooner barge	931		1899	later 781
	3827	Benavides/Beverly	Bee Line Transportation	schooner barge	923		1900	later 782, sank 1917 off Shinnecock Light
	3832	Black Diamond	Bee Line Transportation	schooner barge	923		1900	later 783, A. Barnes 35, Cullen No. 18, burned 1938 off Searsport ME
	3838	Bee	Bee Line Transportation	schooner barge	919		1900	later 784
	86500	Georgia	Coastwise SS Co.	schooner barge	1,609		1900
	100696	Iowa	Coastwise SS Co.	schooner barge	1,606		1900
	100710	Indiana	Coastwise SS Co.	schooner barge	1,626		1900
	127485	Clifford N. Carver		4-masted schooner	1,101		1900
	77433	J. Edward Drake	James B. Drake & Sons	4-masted schooner	910		1900	foundered 1922
	141686	Louise B. Crary	T. B. Crary	5-masted schooner	2,231		1900	collision 1902 and sank off Gloucester MA
	93000	Mary W. Bowen	Joseph A. Bowen	5-masted schooner	2,153		1900	sunk 1917 by u-boat in mid-Atlantic
	117040	Springfield		4-masted schooner	633		1901
	155427	Orlando V. Wootten		schooner	677		1901
	150930	Prescott Palmer	William F. Palmer	5-masted schooner	2,811		1902	lost 1914 off Georges Bank.
	111430	Ransom B. Fuller	Eastern S.S. Co	passenger	1,862		1902	later Broadway 1931, scrapped 1935
	121239	Frank W. Benedict	Benedict-Manson Marine	3-masted schooner	534		1902
	121266	Frederic A. Duggan		schooner	1,137		1903
	200599	James B. Drake	James B. Drake & Sons	4-masted schooner	1,153		1904
	201533	Judge Boyce	James Hughes	4-masted schooner	698		1904	wrecked 1920 off Portugal
	200778	Magnus Manson	Frank W. Benedict	4-masted schooner	1,751		1904	sunk 1917 by u-boat off France
	200921	William E. Bowen, Jr.	Fred. J. Hinckley	4-masted schooner	656		1904	collision and sank 1910 off Cape Hatteras
	201118	William J. Quillin	Roland F. Quillin	4-masted schooner	695		1904	collision and sank 1915 off Cape Hatteras
	201655	Alice May Davenport	James B. Drake & Sons	4-masted schooner	1,141		1905	later General Leon Jurado, wrecked 1906 off Dennis MA
	202593	Herbert D. Maxwell		4-masted schooner	772		1905	collision and sank 1912 off Sandy Point NC
	202848	Isabel B. Wiley	James B. Drake & Sons	4-masted schooner	776		1906	sunk 1918 by u-boat off Barnegat NJ
Built by Clark, Sewall & Co.
		Erie	Clark & Sewell	ship	514		1851	later Argentina
Built by E. & A. Sewall & Co.
		Vancouver	E. & A. Sewall	ship	909		1862
	25520	Vicksburg	E. & A. Sewall	ship	153		1865
		Glendale	E. & A. Sewall	brig	454		1863
		Intrepid	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,073		1864
		Volant	E. & A. Sewall	bark	496		1864
		Ocean Signal	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,215		1864
	9086	Freeman Clark	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,336		1865	wrecked 1883
		Frank Marion	E. & A. Sewall	bark	678		1865
	16191	Matterhorn	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,328		1866	wrecked 1878 in Australia
		Wetterhorn	E. & A. Sewall	ship	698		1866
		Hermon	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,317		1868
	24766	Tabor	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,339		1869	later Carl, Samhold, barge Tabor
	25179	Undaunted	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,764		1869
	8745	Eric the Red	E. & A. Sewall	3-masted ship	1,580		1871	wrecked 1880 on Otway Reef
		Humboldt	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,018		1872
	125075	Carrollton	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,450		1872	stranded 1906
	115155	Sterling	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,731		1873
	8949	El Capitan	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,493		1873
		Salilla	E. & A. Sewall	schooner	312		1873
	85298	Granger	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,526		1873
	19410	Occidental	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,532		1874
	19418	Oriental	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,688		1874
		Continental	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,712		1875
	95385	Harvester	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,494		1875	wrecked 1900 off Black Head
	110270	Reaper	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,468		1876
		Thrasher	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,512		1876
	100189	Indiana	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,487		1876	later bought by Cecil B. DeMille Pictures, used in "The Splendid Road", "The Blood Ship", "The Wreck of the Hesperus" and "The Yankee Clipper", ceremonially burned 1936 in Long Beach CA
	125591	Challenger	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,456		1877
		Carrie S. Bailey	E. & A. Sewall	schooner	396		1878
		Chesebrough	E. & A. Sewall	ship	1,507		1878
Built by Arthur Sewell & Co.
	115654	Solitaire	Arthur Sewall & Co.	ship	1,531		1879	later schooner barge, to USN 1917 as ID-3026, sold 1919
		Thomas M. Reed	Arthur Sewall & Co.	ship	1,987		1880
		Belle Higgins	Arthur Sewall & Co.	schooner	412		1880
		Kate Markee	Arthur Sewall & Co.	schooner	503		1880
		S. M. Thomas	Arthur Sewall & Co.	schooner	761		1881
	100296	Iroquois	Arthur Sewall & Co.	ship	2,121		1881	wrecked 1902
		R. L. Lunt	Arthur Sewall & Co.	schooner	756		1881
	95688	Henry Villard	Arthur Sewall & Co.	ship	1,553		1882	burned 1929 at Richmond Beach
		Nora Bailey	Arthur Sewall & Co.	schooner	448		1882
	80935	W. F. Babcock	Arthur Sewall & Co.	ship	2,029		1882
	81087	Willie Rosenfeld	Arthur Sewall & Co.	3-masted ship	2,445		1885	sank off Brazil 1896
		Kenilworth	Arthur Sewall & Co.
	116152	Shrewsbury	Arthur Sewall & Co.	passenger	326		1887	later New York, abandoned 1911
	116370	Shenandoah	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted ship	3,154		1890	foundered 1890 off Fire Island
	110849	Rappahannock	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted ship	3,185		1890
	116445	Susquehanna	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted ship	2,745		1891	sank 1905 in the Pacific
	110991	Roanoke	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted ship	3,539		1892	Said to be the largest US-built wooden ship, burned 1905
40	157395	Dirigo	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted Bark	3,004		Mar 1894	first steel-hulled sailing ship, sunk by u-boat 1917
41	136697	Erskine M. Phelps	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted Bark	2,998		Aug 1898	Steel hull, to USN 1942 as YO-147, deleted 1945
42	107434	Arthur Sewall	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted Bark	3,209		Mar 1899	Steel hull, missing 1907 off Cape Horn
43	136762	Edward Sewall	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted Bark	3,206		Oct 1899	Steel hull, Star of Shetland 1925, scrapped 1937
44	161135	Kaiulani	Williams, Dimond	3-masted Bark	1,570		Dec 1899	later Star of Finland 1910, Kaiulani 1941, preserved in San Francisco 1960
45	107612	Astral	Standard Oil of NY	4-masted Bark	3,292		Dec 1900	later Star of Zealand 1910, scrapped 1935
46	107655	Acme	Standard Oil of NY	4-masted Bark	3,288		June 1901	later Star of Poland 1915, wrecked 1918
47	81792	William P. Frye	Arthur Sewall & Co.	4-masted Bark	3,374		Oct 1901	Steel hull, captured 1915 and scuttled
48	107724	Atlas	Standard Oil of NY	4-masted Bark	3,381		Feb 1902	later Star of Lapland 1910, scrapped 1937
49	117195	S. O. Co. No. 93	Standard Oil of NY	schooner	2,473		1902
50	161227	Kineo	Arthur Sewall & Co.	5-masted schooner	2,128		May 1903	later Maryland 1916, Aramar 1947, wrecked 1963 off Tamandare, Brazil
Built by Texas Steamship Co.
1	215581	Maine	The Texas Co./USSB	freighter	6,457		Sep 1917	later Empire Lynx 1940, torpedoed and lost 1942
2	215832	Rhode Island	The Texas Co./USSB	freighter	6,457		Nov 1917	later Woonsocket 1918, Makiki 1923, Rio Chagres 1932, scrapped 1953
3	216584	Massachusetts/Bath	The Texas Co./USSB	freighter	6,846		July 1918	later Sagadahoc, to USN as SP-3311, torpedoed and lost 1941
4	216864	New Jersey/Canibas	The Texas Co./USSB	freighter	6,846		Sep 1918	to USN as SP-3401, Mauna Ala 1923, wrecked off the Columbia River 1941
5	215823	No. 5	The Texas Co.	Power lighter	226		1917	later Texaco 124 1919, Newark
6	215876	Thuban	The Texas Co.	Power lighter	226		1917	later Texaco 125 1919, El Caribe 1936, Elizabeth City 1941, Rosalyn B. Hudgins 1951
7	216000	South American	The Texas Co.	tugboat	168		1918	later Achilles, W. T. Coppedge, Jr.
8	214984	Alma R	The Texas Co.	lighter	59		May17	to Mexico 1920
9	214986	Emma R	The Texas Co.	lighter	59		May17	to Mexico 1920
10	217554	Dirigo	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,768		Feb 1919	later Idaho 1940, scrapped 1957
11	217920	Shenandoah	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,768		June 1919	scrapped 1947
12	218753	Lightburne	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,784		Aug 1919	wrecked off Block Island 1939
13	219178	Aryan	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,784		Nov 1919	later Arkansas 1940, scrapped 1953
14	219845	Solitaire	The Texas Co.	Motor Tanker	3,350		Apr 1920	to Norway 1933, Nortraship 1940, scrapped 1950
15	217380	Latin American	The Texas Co.	tugboat	168		Dec 1918
16	217072	Central American	The Texas Co.	tugboat	168		Oct 1918	later Mustang 1928, to Venezuela 1942, scrapped 1960
17	218001	Texaco 145	The Texas Co.	Power lighter	484		May 1919	later Chelsea 1935, wrecked off Rockport ME 1957
18	218187	Texaco 146	The Texas Co.	Power lighter	484		June 1919	later Panama City 1935, scrapped 1949
19	218416	Texaco 147	The Texas Co.	Power lighter	484		July 1919	later Richmond 1935, Dispatch 1948, scrapped 1935
20	217460	American	The Texas Co.	tugboat	168		1919	NLD 1941
21	219512	Roanoke	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,784		Feb 1920	scrapped 1950
22	220025	Occidental	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,727		May 1920	later Tennessee 1940, Certenago 1947, Oregon 1951, scrapped 1954
23	220700	Harvester	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,727		Oct 1920	later Mississippi 1940, Naphtol 1947, Cyprus 1954, Kypros 1956, scrapped 1960
24	220864	Reaper	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,774		Nov 1920	scrapped 1955
25	167715	Texaco 153	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		1919	to Mexico 1921
26	167732	Texaco 154	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		1919	to Mexico 1921
27	167733	Texaco 155	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		Oct 1919
28	167767	Texaco 156	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		Nov 1919
29	167768	Texaco 157	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		Dec 1919
30	167769	Texaco 158	The Texas Co.	tank barge	398		Dec 1919
31	221400	Illinois	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,702		2 Jul 1921	later Burcross 1937, Rodestar 1950, scrapped 1955
32	221805	New Jersey	The Texas Co.	tanker	6,740		20 Dec 1821	torpedoed and lost 1942
33	168087	Texaco 171	The Texas Co.	tank barge	658		1920
34	168090	Texaco 172	The Texas Co.	tank barge	658		Jan 1921
35	168102	Texaco 173	The Texas Co.	tank barge	658		Jan 1921	later Caltex II 1940, scrapped 1960