Old Dartmouth historical sketches - New Bedford Whaling Museum

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fleets. From his yard, also, came the hii->;est vessel ever built inMattapoisett, the Ship Ch-ori^c Lee, of 650 tons, huili in 18Wfor the shipping; tirm of CaLiot & I.ee& Co. of Boston.On the present Town Wharf properix was the shipyard ofEbeneezer Cannon Jr., established in 1792 and continuing untilthe formation of the Mattapoisett Wharf Co. in 1834. Thevessels built here were mosly small merchantmen, one of thefirst of which was advertised in "The Medley", New Bedford'sfirst newspaper.The present Shipyard Park was the site of the famousHolmes shipyard, started in 1812 by Josiah Holmes Sr. and contuiuinguntil the Bark Wanderer, built where the bandstandsits now, slid down the ways in 1878, the last vessel ever launchedin Mattapoisett. Josiah Holmes first formed a partnershipwith Benjamin Barstow; but in 1826 they agreed to disagree,and after that Holmes ran the yard by himself and then withhis sons, Josiah Jr. and Jonathan. After the old man's death,the firm of Josiah Holmes Jr. and Brother was well known indeedin New Bedford, and particularly was it popular with theQuaker whaling agents, for Josiah Jr. was of this faith. Afterthe Ci\il War had ruined the industry, he moved to New Bedfordand started the Holmes Coal Co., later carried on by his sonand grandson.Where the Anchorage is now was the yard of WilliamMoore, established in 1800 and perhaps the first to build largeships for New York. Moore failed in 1818, and the yard waspurchased by Uncle Leonard Hammond, as he was called, a ver\'\ersatilebusiness man, and one of the shrewdest of shrewd Yankees.He ran the Plymouth County House, a tavern which satbetween the present Anchorage and the street, and which burnedon a bitterly cold February night in 185 5 when New Bedfordsent a fire engine down that wouldn't pump until its insideswere heated by hot bricks. (Also, it is related, many of the firefighters were in a like fix until rum was used for the samepurpose)It IS said that on one occasion a farmer on tlie Neck hadrun up quite a bill for rum at the County House, and UncleLeonard had his weather eye out for some means of collecting.The farmer had a very large hog; but there was a law that if aman possessed only one pig, it could not be attached for debt.So Uncle Leonard bided his time until bin sow had a litter. Then
he gave the runt to the farmer and drove pell-mell over to theNeck and took the hog for debt.Besides running the shipyard, the County House, an extensivesalt works on the Neck, a coastwise trade to Charleston,Savannah, and New Orleans, Uncle Leonard was a GovernmentLighthouse contractor. He built the lights at Mattapoisett andGay Head, and in 1838 he sailed from Mattapoisett with twoships and a large crew of men to construct two lighthouses onthe Gulf of Me.xico. It is related that Uncle Leonard did notfinish the Mattapoisett light within the specified time, and whenthe Government Inspector arrived, Uncle Leonard sent a manposthaste to lay some planks on barrels to give the impressionthat the floor was completed. After a friendly glass of rum.Uncle Leonard drove the Inspector down to view the job; butunfortunately the Inspector stepped on the end of a plank notover a barrel, and disappeared into the foundation.Next to the Fast from the Anchorage, on the old WilliamRotch \ard. Captain Wilson Barstow built until he failed in1807. William Moore took it over and built until he failed; andthen the yard was run by Eliakim Cannon until he failed in1827. It is said that in this yard the bowsprits of the ships onthe stocks hung far out over the street, so if you had arrived inMattapoisett 1 1 S years ago in the New Bedford and PlymouthStage Coach, you would have ridden under the overhangingrigging as you jounced up to the Mattapoisett House across thestreet.At the foot of Mechanic Street, on the present Hinsdaleproperty, was the famous Meigs shipyard. Joseph Meigs, Esq.,was a prominent Citizen, State Senator, prosperous shippingmerchant, and successful shipbuilder. He built and ran an oldfashioned country tavern and store in what is now the BayView Hotel. The tavern business must have been thriving, forit is said that Squire Meigs stood on a hill and every farm he couldsee was mortgaged for rum. In his early days he was CommissionMerchant for the Rotches, Howlands, and Rodmans ofNew Bedford, handling their trade in Naval Stores, Lumber,Sugar, Molasses, and Cotton in Savannah, Charleston, and NewYork. Of Squire Meigs' two sons, Joseph Jr. was by far thesmarter, and his tragic death in his early thirties when he hadjust taken over the shipyard, broke the old man's spirit, and hepassed away a few years later, in 1846. The other son, Loring,carried on the business until he was ruined by the panic of 1857.
Page 1 and 2: FJ2504-No.G'^
Page 3: XSHIPBUILDERS OF MATTAPOISETTBy Cha
Page 6 and 7: Edgartown, Dartmouth, Wcstport, New
Page 8 and 9: and shoals, and the horrible menace
Page 10 and 11: established shipyards and wharves,
Page 12 and 13: shore, drew up to the house still s
Page 14 and 15: Scattered records are being brought
Page 18 and 19: Down at Cannonville at the foot of
Page 20 and 21: iver." And in September 1828, the N
Page 22: uilt by Barstow & Holmes in 1820. T
Page 25 and 26: "A fine medium clipper ship of abou
Page 27 and 28: Eliza, Si., 61 T., Abner Pc.isc (Pr
Page 29 and 30: 1819Barclay, Ship, 301 T., Barstow
Page 31 and 32: Mariner, Ship, 349 T., G. Barstow &
Page 33 and 34: 1848Eliza, Sch., 139 T., N. H. liar
Page 35 and 36: Reminiscences:ThreePUBLICATIONSOFTH
Page 37: 52. The Arnold Mansion and Its Trad

Old Dartmouth historical sketches - New Bedford Whaling Museum

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