 C. & R. Poillon advertisement, 1893 | |
| Founded | 1845 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Richard Poillon, Cornelius C. Poillon |
| Defunct | 1917 |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York |
C. & R. Poillon was a 19th-century shipyard company in Brooklyn, New York. The company employed over 300 workers, owned several shipyards, and launched 175 vessels. [1] The company was one of the best known clipper ship firms and the last of the wooden hulled boat builders in New York.
Richard Poillon (1817-1891), born in New York in 1817, was a partner in the firm C. & R. Poillon shipbuilders, one of the best known clipper ship firms in New York. [2] He learned the profession from his father who first owned the shipyard. In 1845, he and his brother, Cornelius (1815-1881) opened an office at 224 South Street, New York City, with a lumberyard and saw mill. [3] [1] : p3
C. & R. Poillon was in attendance at an 1855 meeting of shipowners, merchants, and shipbuilders, held in New York City, to discuss the adoption of a resolution to increase the pay to $2.50 per day for shipyard services. [4]
In 1858, the brothers purchased a new shipyard on Bridge Street in Brooklyn. [1] The Bridge Street shipyard offered services for building, designing and repairing all types of vessels. The shipyard also did a wholesale business in spars, planks, knees decking, and treenails. [1]
During the American Civil War, C. & R. Poillon built ferry boats and steamships for civilian firms and gunboats. The gunboats USS Winona (1861), USS New Berne (1862), and USS Grand Gulf (1863) were built for the United States Navy. [1] : p3
The company built the steamship Ajax (1864 ship) in 1864 to provide logistical support to the Union Army on the Atlantic coast during the Civil War. After the war, the Poillon brothers continued to build steamers, naval vessels, pilot boats and yachts.
In 1867, the yacht Sappho was built by C. & R. Poillon, which was an America's Cup defender. In 1872, they built the Japanese warships Capron and Kuroda, the first warships constructed for the Japanese government. [1]
On August 12, 1875, the pilot-boat E. C. Knight was launched from the C & R Poilon shipyard at the foot of Bridge Street. [5] The New York pilot boat Alexander M. Lawrence was designed in 1879, for Captain Michael Murphy. She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet. [6]
In 1881, the schooner, Norseman was designed by William Townsend and built at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard for Ogden Goelet, who was a real estate developer. The yacht Coronet was built for oil tycoon Rufus T. Bush in 1885.
In 1890, the pilot-boat David T. Leahy was launched at the C & R Poillon shipyard and witnessed by fifteen hundred people. James D. M. Beebe was part-owner of the boat. [7]
On March 28, 1883, Richard Poillon gave a deposition in a Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims in connection with loss of the pilot boat William Bell during the Civil War, which was petitioned by Joseph Henderson and James Callahan. At the deposition, Poillon said that he was a shipbuilder for 35 years, age 64, living in New York City. He went on to say that he built between twenty and thirty vessels and that the William Bell would cost $21,600 to rebuild. On June 5, 1883, the pilots were compensated for their ownership in the William Bell. [24]
After Cornelius died on July 11, 1881, James O. Poillon (1849-1922), son of Richard and Mary Whitmore Poillon, and his cousin, Richard E. Pease, joined the shipyard. In 1882, a second shipyard was purchased in the Gowanus Basin in Brooklyn, at the end of Clinton Street ( 40°40′08″N74°00′17″W / 40.6687750°N 74.004614650°W ). [1] [2]
In 1862, Richard and his wife Mary purchased a house on No. 36 East 38th Street, New York. After Richard died on July 4, 1891, his wife lived there until her death in 1901. The property was sold to Middleton S. Burrill and his wife Emilie N. Burrill. [25] [1] : p4
The Bridge Street shipyard continued until 1904 when it ceased operation. [1] The Gowanus shipyard was sold to the Todd Shipyard in 1917.
Coronet is a 131' wooden-hull schooner yacht built for oil tycoon Rufus T. Bush in 1885. It is one of the oldest and largest vessels of its type in the world, and one of the last grand sailing yachts of the 19th century extant. After numerous owners and decades of neglect, it underwent an extensive restoration at Newport, Rhode Island's, The International Yacht Restoration School beginning in 2010.
George Steers was a designer of yachts best known for the famous racing yacht America. He founded a shipyard with his brother, George Steers and Co, and died in an accident just as he was landing a major contract to build boats for the Russian Czar.
Henry Steers was the son of James Rich Steers, nephew of George Steers, proprietor of Henry Steers' Ship Yard.
Samuel Havre Pine, was a 19th-century American ship designer and builder located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. He built the racing yacht Enchantress as well as many sailing schooners and yachts; steam yachts; and steamships.
Alexander M. Lawrence was the last of the 19th-century sailing schooners to be in the New York pilot boat service as a station boat. She was one of the largest and fastest in the Sandy Hook fleet. She was built to take the place of the New York pilot-boat Abraham Leggett, No. 4, that was hit by the steamship Naples, in 1879. Her boat model won a medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair illustrating the perils of the pilot-boat service. In the age of steam, the Lawrence was sold by the Pilots' Association to the Pacific Mining and Trading Company in 1897.
The Columbia was a 19th-century pilot boat built C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1879 for Sandy Hook and New York pilots that owned the Isaac Webb, which was lost off Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in July 1879. She was run down by the Guion Line steamer SS Alaska in 1883. A second pilot-boat, also named Columbia, was built by Ambrose A. Martin at East Boston in 1894 that had a unique spoon bow and was extremely fast. She was thrown ashore in the great Portland Gale, and remained on the Sand Hills beach in Scituate, Massachusetts for over thirty years as a marine curiosity. The Louise No. 2 replaced the ill-fated Columbia.
The Phantom was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1867 from the designs by Dennison J. Lawlor. The schooner was considered a model for her type with a reputation for being very fast. She helped rescue the passengers on the steamship SS Oregon when it sank in 1886. She was one of the pilot-boats that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. The Phantom was replaced by the pilot-boat William H. Bateman.
The Thomas S. Negus was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in Brooklyn in 1873 for the New Jersey maritime pilots. She was built to replace the pilot boat Jane, No. 1, which sank in early 1873. She was the winner of a $1,000 prize at the Cape May Regatta in 1873. She was named for Thomas S. Negus, president of the N. J. Pilots' Commissioners. In 1897, she left the pilot service to prospect for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush.
The David T. Leahy was a 19th-century two-masted pilot boat schooner, built in 1890 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in New York City. She was named in honor of David T. Leahy, a wealthy woolen merchant. She was said to be the fastest boat in the New York and New Jersey fleet. In 1899, the David T. Leahy was renamed the James Gordon Bennett when the pilots consolidated their business. She sank off Sandy Hook when the German Atlas Line steamship Alene hit her in 1901.
The Mary A. Williams was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1861 by the shipbuilder Edward F. Williams in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York pilots. She was named Mary Ann Williams after the wife of the builder. The boat was considered one of the finest connected with the pilot service. She survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Mary A. Williams was sold in 1896.
The Ariel Patterson was a 19th century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1864 for a group of New York Pilots. She was built by the shipbuilder Ariel Patterson. After nineteen years of service, she was struck and sank off Sea Bright, New Jersey by the steamer Commonwealth in 1883. She was raised and purchased by the Coast Wreaking Company.
The Edward E. Barrett, or Edward E. Bartlett, was a 19th-century two-masted Sandy Hook pilot boat, built by C. & R. Poillon in 1883 and designed by William Townsend. She helped transport New Jersey maritime pilots between inbound or outbound ships coming into the New York Harbor. She was one of the pilot boats that survived the Great Blizzard of 1888. In the age of steam, the Barrett ended her pilot commission and was sold in 1904.
The Actaea, or Actea, was a 19th-century Boston yacht built in 1880 by Weld and David Clark of Kennebunk, Maine for David Sears, Jr., of Montgomery Sears of Boston. She was purchased by a group of New York Sandy Hook Pilots in 1890. She was one of the largest and fastest pilot boats in the fleet. In the age of steam, the Actaea was sold in 1896 to John J. Phelps of the New York Yacht Club and used as a pleasure yacht.
David Carll was a 19th-century American shipbuilder. He built yachts and schooners. He specialized in shallow draft Centreboard schooners. The David Carll's shipyard was the first commercial shipyard built in City Island. He built the popular schooners David Carll, Vesta,Resolute, and Ambassadress. His brother, Jesse Carll had a successful shipyard in Northport, New York.
The Mary E. Fish was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built at the Edward F. Williams shipyard of Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 1861 for Richard Brown and the New York Pilots. She was built to replace the Mary Taylor. The Fish was hit and sank by the schooner Frank Harrington in 1885 and replaced by the David Carll.
The James Gordon Bennett was a 19th-century two-masted pilot boat, built in 1870 at the Lawrence & Foulks shipyard. She was named in honor of James Gordon Bennett, Jr., publisher of the New York Herald. She went ashore in 1893 and was rebuilt at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard. In 1897, the James Gordon Bennett was bought by Miller J. Morse of the Atlantic Yacht Club and made into a yacht. He changed her name to Hermit. The New Jersey pilots purchased her in 1901, to replace the David T. Leahy, that was run down by the steamship Alene. The Hermit sank in 1906, when the steamship Monterey ran into her.
The William H. Bateman, a.k.a. Commodore Bateman, was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1888 at the C. & R. Poillon shipyard in south Brooklyn. She was replaced the pilot-boat Phantom that was lost in the Great Blizzard of 1888. She was run down and sank by the Hamburg steamship Suevia in 1889.
The Thomas F. Bayard was a 19th-century Delaware River pilot schooner built by C. & R. Poillon shipyard in 1880. She spent sixteen years as a pilot boat before being sold during the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897. She was sold again in 1906 for Seal hunting, then purchased by the Department of Marine & Fisheries where she guided freighters into New Westminster, British Columbia for 43 years. She was then acquired by the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 1978. When she sank at her mooring in 2002, the International Yacht Restoration School, Mystic Seaport and the Vancouver Maritime Museum, removed the vessel in pieces for the archeological teams to study and document the remains of her hull. The Thomas F. Bayard Collection, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, contains the documents, history and preservation efforts.
The J. Henry Edmunds was a 19th-century pilot schooner built in 1887 in Brooklyn, New York for Philadelphia pilots. She sank in 1892 and a second Edmunds was built in 1893, which lasted thirty-five years before she sank in bad weather outside Cape Henlopen in 1928. She was the last schooner-rigged pilot boat in the Delaware Bay.
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