Harlan and Hollingsworth
Encyclopedia
Harlan & Hollingsworth was a Wilmington, Delaware
, firm that constructed ship
s and railroad car
s during the 19th century and into the 20th century.
In 1841, Elijah Hollingsworth, brother-in-law of Harlan, bought out Pusey, and the firm became known as Betts, Harlan & Hollingsworth. Pusey later formed competing Pusey and Jones
. In 1849 Mahlon Betts withdrew from the firm, which became simply Harlan & Hollingsworth; J. Taylor Gause was admitted as a partner in 1858, and the company became known as Harlan, Hollingsworth & Co..
Harlan & Hollingsworth's expanded slowly but steadily into iron shipbuilding. Only nine ships were built between 1841 and 1851, with most of the company time taken with railroad car building and general repair work. In 1843 the company leased a launching berth on the banks of the Christiana River. The facilities at this property were limited, so all the work forming iron plates, bars, and fasteners was done at their main shop on Front and West Streets. The launch slipway
was 200 feet long and could only accommodate vessels of 600 tons maximum, but this was deemed adequate for the needs of the time.
The first two hulls built by the company, the Ashland and Ocean, were two of the earliest iron steamboats to be constructed in the United States. They were delivered to George Aspinwall of Philadelphia in 1844. That same year the company built the Bangor, which is credited with being the first seagoing iron propellor steamship built in the United States.
By the early 1850s the company began to rely less on wood ship or railcar building for its income. Machine shops, office buildings, wharves, carpenter sheds, boiler shops, blacksmith shops and cranes were added in the first five years of the decade. As the firm's reputation grew, more orders for steamboats came in from across the country. Charles Morgan, a New York shipping magnate, purchased his first ship from Harlan in 1856. Morgan would eventually become one of the largest customers for Harlan & Hollingsworth, ordering over 31 vessels by 1878.
(Society of Naval Architects, 1943)
, the dominant iron shipbuilder in Wilmington, and the most prolific iron shipbuilder in the United States. By 1860 the company had built 75 iron hulls, mostly steamships along with a handful of barges. (Brown, 1951) During the Civil War the company won contracts for the construction of three monitor
s for the government (Patapsco
, Saugus
, and Napa
). The Navy, however, ordered many last-minute design changes to these vessels. This resulted in delays while the changes were incorporated into the construction. The extra expenses incurred reduced profits, and as a result the company became reluctant to bid on government contracts. In 1863, Jacob Sharp left their employ to form Jackson & Sharp, another car-building firm, with Job Jackson.
"New Navy monitor USS Amphitrite (BM-2)
. Despite this experience Harlan & Hollingsworth constructed three more torpedo boat destroyers for the Navy, the Stringham, Hull
, and Hopkins
.
Other notable vessels built by Harlan & Hollingsworth include Mischief
, winner of the fourth America's Cup
in 1881. While the company followed Jackson & Sharp into narrow gauge car building, they were not in the forefront of steel car construction. In the 1880s orders for ferries and coastal steamships started picking up again, so much that by the end of the 19th century, the company was the largest employer in Wilmington. In 1896-1897 they built the Catawissa
; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1996.
and operated as part of their shipbuilding division. The name changed from Harlan & Hollingsworth to the Harlan Plant of Bethlehem Steel. The shipyard closed in 1926, although it was reopened for a time during the Second World War and part of the shipyard was used by the Dravo Corporation
until 1964. Railcars were built on the site until 1940, and parts for railroad cars until 1944. Most of the company's buildings have been demolished for new development, but the office building
survives and is enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, firm that constructed ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s and railroad car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
s during the 19th century and into the 20th century.
Founding
Mahlon Betts, a carpenter, arrived in Wilmington in 1812. After helping construct many prominent buildings in the city, Betts branched out into foundry work in 1821. In 1836, Betts partnered with Samuel Pusey (a machinist) and began manufacturing railcars at a plant on West and Water Streets in Wilmington. The next year, cabinetmaker Samuel Harlan joined the firm, then known as Betts, Pusey & Harlan. By 1839, the company claimed to have manufactured 39 passenger and 28 freight cars over the past two years. The next year, they hired Jacob F. Sharp, a former house carpenter, to build railroad cars. He would rise to become foreman at the plant, and eventually co-founded the rival firm of Jackson and Sharp.In 1841, Elijah Hollingsworth, brother-in-law of Harlan, bought out Pusey, and the firm became known as Betts, Harlan & Hollingsworth. Pusey later formed competing Pusey and Jones
Pusey and Jones
The Pusey and Jones Corporation was a major ship and equipment manufacturer from 1846 to 1959. Ship building was the primary focus from 1853 until the end of World War II, when the company converted the shipyard to production of paper manufacturing machinery...
. In 1849 Mahlon Betts withdrew from the firm, which became simply Harlan & Hollingsworth; J. Taylor Gause was admitted as a partner in 1858, and the company became known as Harlan, Hollingsworth & Co..
Shipbuilding
Harlan & Hollingsworth's experience with railcars and other ironwork led them to become early experimenters in iron shipbuilding. In 1842 the company hired Alexander Kelly to supervise all the millwright work. In 1843, under the encouragement of Samual Harlan, the company started engaging in marine engine building and repair. Their first ship-related project was repairing the cylinder and other machine parts of the steamboat Sun. This small step was the beginning of what would become one of the first iron shipyards in the United States.Harlan & Hollingsworth's expanded slowly but steadily into iron shipbuilding. Only nine ships were built between 1841 and 1851, with most of the company time taken with railroad car building and general repair work. In 1843 the company leased a launching berth on the banks of the Christiana River. The facilities at this property were limited, so all the work forming iron plates, bars, and fasteners was done at their main shop on Front and West Streets. The launch slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
was 200 feet long and could only accommodate vessels of 600 tons maximum, but this was deemed adequate for the needs of the time.
The first two hulls built by the company, the Ashland and Ocean, were two of the earliest iron steamboats to be constructed in the United States. They were delivered to George Aspinwall of Philadelphia in 1844. That same year the company built the Bangor, which is credited with being the first seagoing iron propellor steamship built in the United States.
By the early 1850s the company began to rely less on wood ship or railcar building for its income. Machine shops, office buildings, wharves, carpenter sheds, boiler shops, blacksmith shops and cranes were added in the first five years of the decade. As the firm's reputation grew, more orders for steamboats came in from across the country. Charles Morgan, a New York shipping magnate, purchased his first ship from Harlan in 1856. Morgan would eventually become one of the largest customers for Harlan & Hollingsworth, ordering over 31 vessels by 1878.
Business growth
This chart give an indication of the economic progress of the company from 1836 to 1860:| Year | Employees | Gross business |
|---|---|---|
| 1836 | 20 | $6,580 |
| 1838 | 45 | $63,374 |
| 1842 | 120 | $40,531.00 |
| 1850 | 225 | $159,742 |
| 1855 | 280 | $293,662 |
| 1860 | 630 | $580,427 |
(Society of Naval Architects, 1943)
Civil War
Harlan and Hollingsworth was, by the time of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the dominant iron shipbuilder in Wilmington, and the most prolific iron shipbuilder in the United States. By 1860 the company had built 75 iron hulls, mostly steamships along with a handful of barges. (Brown, 1951) During the Civil War the company won contracts for the construction of three monitor
Monitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
s for the government (Patapsco
USS Patapsco (1862)
USS Patapsco was a Passaic-class ironclad monitor in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Patapsco River in Maryland.-Built in Wilmington, Delaware:...
, Saugus
USS Saugus (1863)
USS Saugus was a monitor constructed for the Union Navy during the third year of the American Civil War. She saw most of her military action in the rivers of Virginia, including being there for the fall of Richmond, Virginia. Post-war, she was recommissioned for further service with the U.S...
, and Napa
USS Napa (1862)
USS Napa was a Casco class twin-screw light draft monitor built during the American Civil War for operation in the shallow inland waters of the Confederacy...
). The Navy, however, ordered many last-minute design changes to these vessels. This resulted in delays while the changes were incorporated into the construction. The extra expenses incurred reduced profits, and as a result the company became reluctant to bid on government contracts. In 1863, Jacob Sharp left their employ to form Jackson & Sharp, another car-building firm, with Job Jackson.
Postwar
In 1866 Elijah Hollingsworth died in a shipyard accident. His death greatly affected Samuel Harlan, so that shortly thereafter the partnership was dissolved and the enterprise incorporated as The Harlan & Hollingsworth Company. Harlan & Hollingsworth thrived despite competition from Jackson & Sharp and other Wilmington yards, in part because of their diversified production of railroad car building and shipbuilding. However, the Panic of 1873 and the death of Charles Morgan (their largest customer) induced the company to undertake government contracts again. These included the construction of the sloop Ranger and the long (16 year) construction of theUSS Amphitrite (BM-2)
The second USS Amphitrite—the lead ship in her class of iron-hulled, twin-screw monitors—was laid down in 1874 at Wilmington, Delaware, by the Harlan and Hollingsworth yard; launched on 7 June 1883; sponsored by Miss Nellie Benson, the daughter of a Harlan and Hollingsworth official; and...
. Despite this experience Harlan & Hollingsworth constructed three more torpedo boat destroyers for the Navy, the Stringham, Hull
USS Hull (DD-7)
USS Hull was a in the United States Navy, the second ship named for Commodore Isaac Hull.Hull was launched by Harlan & Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware, on 21 June 1902; sponsored by Miss Mabel Hull, a descendant of Commodore Hull; and commissioned on 20 May 1903, Lieutenant Samuel Robison...
, and Hopkins
USS Hopkins (DD-6)
|-References:...
.
Other notable vessels built by Harlan & Hollingsworth include Mischief
Mischief (yacht)
The yacht Mischief was the victorious American defender of the fourth America's Cup race in 1881 against Canadian challenger Atalanta.-Design:...
, winner of the fourth America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
in 1881. While the company followed Jackson & Sharp into narrow gauge car building, they were not in the forefront of steel car construction. In the 1880s orders for ferries and coastal steamships started picking up again, so much that by the end of the 19th century, the company was the largest employer in Wilmington. In 1896-1897 they built the Catawissa
Catawissa (tugboat)
Catawissa was a historic tugboat located at Waterford in Saratoga County, New York. She was built in 1896-1897 by Harlan and Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to tow coal barges between ports on the Eastern Seaboard. She was 158 feet in length, 19...
; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1996.
Bethlehem Steel era
On December 10, 1904, the company was acquired by Bethlehem SteelBethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
and operated as part of their shipbuilding division. The name changed from Harlan & Hollingsworth to the Harlan Plant of Bethlehem Steel. The shipyard closed in 1926, although it was reopened for a time during the Second World War and part of the shipyard was used by the Dravo Corporation
Dravo Corporation
Dravo Corporation was a shipbuilding company with shipyards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware. It was founded by Frank and Ralph Dravo in Pittsburgh during the 1890s.-Facilities:...
until 1964. Railcars were built on the site until 1940, and parts for railroad cars until 1944. Most of the company's buildings have been demolished for new development, but the office building
Harlan and Hollingsworth Office Building
The Harlan and Hollingsworth Office Building is a historic structure located in Wilmington, Delaware.By 1910, existing office facilities at the Harlan Plant of Bethlehem Steel had become inadequate, and work started on a new office building in the Colonial Revival style. Completed in 1912, the...
survives and is enrolled on the National Register of Historic Places.