Subject: Shipbuilding industry - Philadelphia Area Archives Search Results

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet (4 containers, 1 volume)
Abstract:: The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (NYS) was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850-1903), who served as the company’s first president. The company held significant government contracts during both World Wars, and built ships for the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Emergency Fleet Corporation as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor. During the 1930s, the company built luxury ocean liners, such as the Manhattan and the Washington for the United States Lines, and also built ships for Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Railroad, Standard Oil and American Export Lines. During its tenure, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation constructed over 500 ships. NYS completed its last ship in 1967 and went out of business shortly thereafter. The collection houses small caches of documentation relating to the history and operations of the New York Shipbuilding Corporation from 1919 to 1964. Of note, is an oversized scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the New York Shipbuilding...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 195.0 linear feet (43 containers, 12 flat file drawers [includes 2,480-2,760 drawings])
Abstract:: Founded in 1870 by John H. Mathis and W.W. Reynolds, by the time of its 1913 incorporation, the John H. Mathis Company was an already established and well-represented shipbuilding firm in the maritime world. Located at Point and Erie Streets in Camden, New Jersey, the Mathis Company built and repaired yachts, river steamers, tugs, barges, car floats, ships and other varieties of floating vessels for private individuals and businesses as well as the Navy and Coast Guard. During World Wars I and II, a variety of ships were built, including minesweepers, transports, Coast Guard Cutters, and ferries. Of note, was the presidential yacht Sequoia, which was built by Mathis Yacht Building Company as a separate but allied venture at the Mathis shipyard in 1910. The Mathis Shipyard closed in 1961. The Mathis Shipyard was later used by the firm Camden Ship Repair. The John H. Mathis Company records, which date from 1919 to 1987, consists of business records, correspondence,...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 8.8 linear feet (21 containers)
Abstract:: In 1940, Leroy M. Robinson (President), George R. Taylor (Vice-president), and John P. Carson (Secretary and Treasurer) formed RTC Shipbuilding Company in Camden, New Jersey. Their initials are the basis for the name of the company. All three men were former executives at J. H. Mathis Company. Subsequent to the death of Robinson and the retirement of Taylor in 1946, Carson became the firm's president and assumed sole ownership. The RTC Shipbuilding Company records evidence the shipbuilding and repairs conducted by this company from 1934 to 1965. The collection also includes an impressive photographic documentation of the daily work performed on the RTC Shipyard. Heavily involved in ships designed for the Navy in World War II, as well as in building fishing vessels in subsequent years, one of the strengths of this collection lies in the hundreds of records found in the “Shipbuilding records” series. The “Photographs” series is also a strength of the collection, with many images of...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 2.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (NYS) was founded in 1899 by Henry G. Morse (1850-1903), who served as the company’s first president. The company held significant government contracts during both World Wars, and built ships for the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Emergency Fleet Corporation as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor. During the 1930s, the company built luxury ocean liners, such as the Manhattan and the Washington for the United States Lines, and also built ships for Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Railroad, Standard Oil and American Export Lines. During its tenure, the New York Shipbuilding Corporation constructed over 500 ships. NYS completed its last ship in 1967 and went out of business shortly thereafter. The bulk of the collection appears to have been work-related materials used by John F. Ward, a New York Shipbuilding employee in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection includes material from 1919 to 1969, with the...(see more)

Held at: Independence Seaport Museum, J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library [Contact Us]

Extent:: 1.5 linear feet
Abstract:: The Hog Island Shipyard was constructed on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1917 to 1918 in response to the United States' need for cargo and troop transport ships after it entered World War I. At the time, Hog Island was the largest shipyard in the world and the first to use an assembly-line process on such a large scale. From the time of the shipyard's completion in 1918 until its closing in 1921, 122 ships were built. As of 2014, Philadelphia International Airport sits on most of the land once occupied by the shipyard. The Hog Island photographs, 1917-1920, consist of about 2,000 photographs from de-constructed photo albums by the American International Shipbuilding Corporation documenting the construction of the Hog Island Shipyard and its operations.

Held at: Philadelphia History Museum [Contact Us]

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