'' Light Vessel No.57'' at Toledo, Ohio History-navy-mil-CoxasUSS-Puritan

Craig Shipbuilding was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

company in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. To support the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

demand for ships Craig Shipbuilding

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

switched over to military construction and built:

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

Submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and Cargo Ships. Craig Shipbuilding was started in 1906 by John F. Craig. John F. Craig had worked in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

with his father, John Craig (1838-1934), and Blythe Craig, both shipbuilders, their first ship was built in 1864 at Craig Shipbuilding Toledo. John F. Craig opened his shipbuilding company in

Port of Long Beach The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land wit ...

on the south side of Channel 3, the current location of Pier 41 in the inner harbor, becoming the port's first shipyard. In 1907 Craig Shipbuilding is given a contract to dredge a channel from the

Pacific ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the inner harbor. In 1917 Craig sold the shipyard to the

California Shipbuilding Company __NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty ship, Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transport, ''Haskell''-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often ref ...

. But then opened a new shipyard next to the one he just sold and called it the Long Beach Shipbuilding Company. The Long Beach Shipbuilding Company built cargo ships in 1918, 1919, and 1920 for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. In 1918 California Shipbuilding started to have difficulties completing contracts that it had purchased with the Craig Shipyard, including two submarines and a lighthouse tender. In 1921, Craig purchased his original shipyard back and renamed it back to Craig Shipbuilding. At the same time he renamed the Long Beach Shipbuilding to Craig Shipbuilding and ran both as one company. The tow shipyard did repair work on built yachts. The

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

started a shipbuilding program in 1939, to support the

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

demand for ships. Craig leased the Long Beach Shipbuilding yard to

Consolidated Steel Corporation Consolidated Steel Corporation (formed 18 December 1928) was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas. It was created in 1929 by the merg ...

. Consolidated Steel Corporation built Type C cargo merchant ships and two Type P1 passenger ships at the leased yard. Consolidated Steel operated two other large shipyards and two other small boatyards. After World war 2, the Consolidated leased yard closed. Craig shipyard continued to do repair work as the Long Beach Marine Repair and closed in 1970.

Craig Shipbuilding Toledo

Notable ships built at Craig Shipbuilding Toledo (1864-1905), later purchased by a syndicate of investors in 1905 and renamed

Toledo Shipbuilding Company The Toledo Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard located on Toledo, Ohio. History The Toledo Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1905 when a syndicate of investors purchased the Craig Shipbuilding Company in Toledo, Ohio. The group was composed of L ...

, and then purchased in 1945 by the

American Ship Building Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to t ...

. Run today by the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority: *Two schooners, the ''James H. Seguine'' and ''Edwin Kirk'' in 1864 at Keyport, New Jersey *''Amelia G. Ireland'', built at Wicomico Creek, Maryland in 1866 * Schooner ''Jane Ralston'' for Robert W. Linn. Craig started partnership with Linn: Linn & Craig * ''Manistique'' in 1882 as John Craig & Son (with George Losee Craig); son John Franklin Craig joins in 1889; yard moves to Toledo. *''E.G. Crosby'' (1903) *''City of South Haven'' *''Lakeside'' *''City of Benton Harbor'' *''Indianapolis'' *''Chippewa'' * SS ''George M. Cox'' (SS ''Puritan'') 1901 steel passenger screw-steamer, 495 tons, wrecked May 27, 1933. * ''Detroiter'', 1902 *'' Light Vessel No.57'' * SS ''City of South Haven'' * SS ''Harriet B.'' * SS ''Puritan'' * ''John C. Barr'' tug *

Grays Reef Light The Grays Reef Light is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, west of Waugoshance Island in Bliss Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. History In the 1880s, as shipments of iron o ...

* SS ''Grand Haven'' *LV55, LV56, and LV57 at the

Lansing Shoals Light Station The Lansing Shoals Light Station is a lighthouse located in northeastern Lake Michigan, southeast of Point Patterson, in Newton Township, Mackinac County, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. History: Lig ...

Light vessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

s * United States lightship ''Nantucket'' (LV-58) * Many tugs, propellers, barges, car ferries, light ships and passenger boats

Craig Shipbuilding Long Beach Yard

Notable ships built at Craig Shipbuilding Long Beach Yard (1906 to 1917) and (1922-1934):Historical Society of Long BeachOctober 2018The Great War as Civic Engagement:Southern California, 1916-1925, by Craig Hendricks
/ref> * ''Paraiso'', built 1912 * USLHT ''Cedar'', 1917 * ''Cedar'' (WAGL 207), US Coast Guard buoy tender, 1,890 tons, 1917 * USS ''L-6'' (SS-45), US Navy submarine, 1917 * USS ''L-7'' (SS-46), US Navy submarine, 1917 * ''Infanta'', built 1930 for the actor

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

(120-foot steel-hulled cruiser) *'' Velero III'', built 1931 for

George Allan Hancock George Allan Hancock (July 26, 1875 – May 31, 1965) was the owner of the Rancho La Brea Oil Company. He inherited Rancho La Brea, including the La Brea Tar Pits which he donated to Los Angeles County. He also developed Hancock Park, Los Angeles ...

* USS ''Amethyst'', built 1931 * ''Georganna'', built 1925 * ''Caroline'', built 1931 for Eldridge R. Johnson, later converted to motor torpedo boat tender *''

Geoanna ''Geoanna'' was a steel auxiliary schooner built in 1934 by Craig Shipbuilding Company in Long Beach, California. ''Geoanna'' was requisitioned during World War II for service briefly with the U.S. Navy before transfer to the U.S. Army for South ...

'', 1934 schooner

Long Beach Shipbuilding Company

The yard was the smallest of the three steel shipyards in the Ports of Los Angeles and

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

active during the World War I shipbuilding boom, responsible for 17% of the tonnage produced there. Other notable ships built at Long Beach Shipbuilding Company Long Beach Yard (1918-1921): * ''Edythe'', yacht built in 1920 for owner John F. Craig; 186 tons; later sold and renamed ''Melodie'' * ''Mazatlan'', 987 ton cargo ship for

Swayne & Hoyt Swayne & Hoyt was an American steamship company based in San Francisco, California, and in operation from the 1890s to 1940. During its tenure, the company witnessed the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 and the massive shipbuilding program of W ...

shipping; later renamed ''San Diegan'' in 1937

Consolidated Steel at the Long Beach Shipyard

See: Consolidated Steel Corporation#Long Beach shipyard

Shipbuilding in Los Angeles and Long Beach

* West Basin ** Consolidated Steel Wilmington **

Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division was a shipyard in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. Before applying its last corporate name, the shipyard had been called Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company and Todd Shipyards, Los Angeles ...

** Western Pipe and Steel * Terminal Island ** Southwestern Shipbuilding Company *** Bethlehem San Pedro **

California Shipbuilding Corporation __NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including ''Haskell''-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship. The ''Dictionary of Ame ...

Al Larson Boat Shop Al Larson Boat Shop or Al Larson Boat Building is a shipbuilding and dry dock repair company in San Pedro, California on Terminal Island. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Al Larson Boat Shop built: US Navy Sub chasers and Minesweeper ...

* Long Beach ** Long Beach Shipbuilding Company *** Consolidated Steel Long Beach

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig Shipbuilding American boat builders Ships built in Toledo, Ohio