Barber Asphalt Company of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

started in 1883 was founded by

Amzi L. Barber Amzi Lorenzo Barber (June 22, 1843 – April 17, 1909) was a pioneer of the asphalt industry in the United States, and an early participant in the automobile industry as well. He laid many of the roads in Westchester County, New York and was ...

. Barber, born in 1843. Barber first career was a teaching professor, he moved to real estate. In real estate, he found the problem of needing affordable paved roads. He found that

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

was a great affordable material for paved roads. He added

asphalt shingle An asphalt shingle is a type of wall or roof shingle that uses asphalt for waterproofing. It is one of the most widely used roofing covers in North America because it has a relatively inexpensive up-front cost and is fairly simple to install. ...

s to his products. In 1879 he moved Headquarters to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He had offices in Washington, D.C. from 1878 to 1912, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1912 to 1938 and Maurer, Perth Amboy,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

from 1938 to 1948. In 1888 Barber leased the largest know asphalt deposit at

Pitch Lake The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 squa ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. Barber opened a subsidiary, called the Iroquois division, and Iroquois Electric Refrigeration Company. Elkins Widener purchased the company in 1898 and merged with his Trinidad Corporation subsidiary. This formed the Asphalt Company of America of New York. In 1899 Asphalt Company of America was sold to John M. Mack and renamed, National Asphalt Company of America. In 1901 Barber retired from the Barber Asphalt Company. National Asphalt Company of America closed in 1902. In 1903 it opened again as General Asphalt Company. Uintah Railway Company was founded in 1903 by the Barber Asphalt Paving Company. Barber has paved millions of miles of roads. In 1904 Barber returned the company. In the 1920s Barber Asphalt Company opened a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

in Perth Amboy, New Jersey at the time the town was known as Barber. The Barber Asphalt refinery is now the

Perth Amboy Refinery The Perth Amboy Refinery is a refinery built in 1920. It is between Convery Boulevard and State Street in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, adjacent to the Outerbridge Crossing. Via rail it is served by Conrail's Chemical Coast and the former Perth Amboy ...

. General Asphalt and Barber division merged in 1936. After the merger, the name was changed to Barber Company, Inc.. In 1938 the name was changed to Barber Asphalt Corporation. Barber Asphalt entered into a joint venture with Standard Oil Company of California in 1946. The joint venture was called California Refining Company."Amzi L. Barber Dies of Pneumonia"
''

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'' (April 19, 1909) In 1981 the company closed and sold all its assets. The oil and gas products line (Barber Oil Corporation) was sold to Petro-Lewis Corporation. Shipping sold to Apex Shipping. Coal products (Barber Paramont Coal) to:

Hanna Mining Company M. A. Hanna Company was an iron ore processing company located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Origin The origins of the M. A. Hanna Co. are with Daniel F. Rhodes. In the 1840s Rhodes had founded Rhodes & Company which mined coal in the Mahoni ...

, W. R. Grace & Company and Liberty Capital Group. American Gilsonite Company stocks to

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

World War II

Barber Asphalt Company operated a fleet of

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

s and coal ships to run Barber Asphalt Company. The ships were used to help the

World War II 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 opposin ...

effort. During World War II Barber Asphalt Company operated Merchant navy ships 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 ...

. During World War II Barber Asphalt Company was active with charter shipping with the

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 ...

and

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

. Barber Asphalt Company operated

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

s and tankers for the merchant navy. The ship was run by its Barber Asphalt Company crew and the

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 ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

s to man the deck guns and radio.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M

/ref>

Ships

Type T2-SE-A1 tanker Hat Creek underway at sea on 16 August 1943

Post World War Type

Type T2 tanker The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of ...

were sold to Barber Asphalt Company and Trinidad Corporation: *Birch Coulie, T2 tanker *Chapultepec, T2 Tanker, 26 Dec 1943 was damaged by torpedo, was repaired. *Luckystar, T2 Tanker ** Fruitvale Hills, T2 Tanker, used 1947-1965, was widened and lengthened, renamed San Antonio. *Carleton Ellis, Tanker a Liberty Armadillo-class tanker **Liberty ships operated during World War 2 only: * Carleton Ellis * William E. Pendleton **Trinidad Corporation ship: *

SS Fort Mercer SS ''Fort Mercer'' was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., at Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1945. SS ''Fort Mercer'' (hull number 534), was built under a Maritime Commission contract and launched on October 2, 194 ...

T2 Tanker cracked and then broke in two in a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, T2 was SS ''Caribbean'' * Lyons Creek, T2 Tanker * Clarke's Wharf T2 Tanker * La Brea Hills T2 Tanker *

New Market New Market may refer to: Bangladesh *New Market, Dhaka *New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana *New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong India * New Market, Bhopal *New Market, Kolkata Jamaica *New Market, Jama ...

T2 Tanker * Redstone T2 Tanker *

Tillamook Tillamook may refer to: Places: * Tillamook County, Oregon, United States * Tillamook, Oregon, a city, the seat of Tillamook County * Tillamook River, United States * Tillamook Bay, a bay in the northwestern part of Oregon * Tillamook Head, a natur ...

T2 Tanker *Admiralty Bay, built 1971, scrapped 1993 ** Leased ships: * USS Mascoma 1947 to 1948.Mascoma
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External links

The Wonderland of Trinidad, by Barber Asphalt Company—a Project Gutenberg eBook

The T2 Tanker page

References

{{Liberty ships Defunct shipping companies of the United States American companies established in 1883

World War II

Ships

See also

External links

References