Texas Steamship Company

Bath ME

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. 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.

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.

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

Printed from shipbuildinghistory.njscuba.net