The American Ship Building Company was the dominant

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, in 1888 and opened the yard in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

, in 1898. It changed its name to the American Ship Building Company in 1900, when it acquired Superior Shipbuilding, in

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

; Toledo Shipbuilding, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

; and West Bay Shipbuilding, in West Bay City, Michigan. With the coming of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the company also acquired Buffalo Dry Dock, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

; Chicago Shipbuilding, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois; and Detroit Shipbuilding, in

Wyandotte, Michigan Wyandotte ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detro ...

. American Shipbuilding ranked 81st among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.

The Lorain Yard

The

, Yard served as the main facility of the company after World War II and to this day five of the 13 separate ore carriers on the Great Lakes were built in Lorain, including the M/V ''Paul R. Tregurtha'' (originally named the William J. Delancey) which is the largest vessel on the Great Lakes (1,013'06" long). Built in 1898, the Lorain Yard quickly grew in size and importance. The facilities eventually included two

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s over long built to handle the largest of the Great Lakes ore carriers. The Lorain Yard closed in 1983 after a series of labor disputes. Most of the buildings associated with shipyard were demolished with only the water tower and Ship Building Pattern Warehouse remaining. The pattern warehouse became The Shipyards dining and events venue, and then since 2024 has been home to the Lorain Brewing Company. The remaining lands are now being redeveloped as HarborWalk Residential Community, an upscale housing development.

Ships built by the company

* , launched in 1892 in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

* , launched in 1892 as a lake freighter, originally as the SS ''Samuel Mather'' * , launched in 1896 in Cleveland * , launched in 1897 in Cleveland * , launched in 1902, in Cleveland originally as the ''Manistique-Marquette & Northern No. 1'' * , built in 1909 in

, sunk in the

Great Lakes Storm of 1913 The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the Big Blow, the Freshwater Fury and the White Hurricane, was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and Southwest ...

* , launched in 1910 in Lorain, Ohio, sunk in the

* , built in 1906 for the Acme Transit Company, later sunk in the

* , built in 1903 in Cleveland * SS ''Milwaukee Clipper'', built in 1904 in Cleveland, originally as the ''Juniata'', for the Anchor Line * , originally built in 1913 as the ''Seeandbee'' in Lorain * , originally built in 1917 as ''Louis W. Hill'' in Lorain * , originally built in 1924 as the ''Greater Buffalo'' in Lorain * , launched in 1927 in Lorain, later Outarde, broken up at Port Colborne 1985 * , launched in 1943 in Lorain * , originally built as ''Armco'' for Oglebay Norton, sold to

American Steamship Company The American Steamship Company (ASC) is an American transportation company that operates a fleet of self-unloading vessels in the Great Lakes. The company is currently owned by Rand Logistics Inc. History The American Steamship Company was fo ...

in 2006, sold to Lower Lakes Towing in 2018. Built in 1952 in Lorain * , originally built as ''Ernest T. Weir'', sold to Oglebay Norton in 1978, renamed ''Courtney Burton''. * , built in 1952 in Lorain * , built in 1927 in Lorain * , built in 1952 in Lorain * , first of eight AAA-Class freighters, built in 1952 in Lorain * , launched in 1942 in Lorain * , launched in 1943 in Lorain * , launched in 1943 in Lorain * , launched in 1943 in Cleveland * , launched in 1943 in Cleveland * , launched in 1944 in Lorain * , launched in 1944 in Lorain * , launched in 1943, Cleveland * , launched in 1943, Cleveland * , launched in 1943, Buffalo * , launched in 1967 in Lorain * , launched in 1967 in Lorain * , launched in 1967 in Lorain * , launched in 1967 in Lorain * , launched in 1968 in Lorain * , launched in 1968 in Lorain * , launched in 1968 in Lorain * , built as William R. Roesch, sold to Oglebay Norton in 1994, renamed David Z. Norton. Sold Lower Lakes Towing in 2006, renamed to Calumet in 2008. Sister ship to ''M/V Manitowoc'' and ''M/V Robert S. Pierson''. Built in 1973 in Lorain. * , built as Paul Thayer, sold to Oglebay Norton in 1994, renamed Earl W. Oglebay. Sold Lower Lakes Towing in 2006, renamed to Manitowoc in 2008. Built in 1973 in Lorain. Sister ship to ''M/V Calumet'' and ''M/V Robert S. Pierson'' * , built as the ''Wolverine'' for Oglebay Norton, sold to Lower Lakes Towing in 2008. Sister ship to ''M/V Calumet'' and ''M/V Manitowoc''. Built in 1973 in Lorain. * , launched in 1985, Tampa Shipyards (subsidiary of The American Ship Building Company) * , built in Lorain in 1972. * , originally SS ''Edward B. Greene'', built in Lorain in 1952. * MV ''James R. Barker'', built in Lorain in 1976. * MV ''Mesabi Miner'', built in Lorain in 1977. * MV ''Paul R. Tregurtha'', originally MV ''William J. De Lancey'', built in Lorain in 1981. *

Northern Wave ''Northern Wave'' was an American large steel steamer built by Globe Iron Works and used on the Great Lakes. ''Northern Wave'' was launched in 1889 and scrapped in 1926. It was one of eight steamships owned by the Northern Steamship Company of B ...

built in 1889.

Delta Shipbuilding Company

During the Second World War, the company managed the Delta Shipbuilding Company for the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The co ...

. Delta had a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and built a total of 188 ships. Delta Shipbuilding Company built 187

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

s; the first completed was the SS ''William C.C. Claiborne'', named after the first

governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

William C. C. Claiborne William Charles Cole Claiborne ( 1773–1775 – November 23, 1817) was an American politician and military officer who served as the first governor of Louisiana from April 30, 1812, to December 16, 1816. He was also possibly the youngest memb ...

. The United States Maritime Commission had Delta and eight other emergency shipyards start building Liberty ships in 1941; 2,710 were produced during the war. Many were built in less than two months. The Delta shipyard was started specifically for the war effort, at a site on the

Industrial Canal The Industrial Canal is a waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army United States Army Corps of Engineers, Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation ...

near the

Almonaster Avenue Bridge The Almonaster Avenue Bridge is a bascule bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bridge has two vehicular lanes of Almonaster Avenue and two railroad tracks over the Industrial Canal. The bridge is named after Almonaster Avenue on which i ...

, immediately south of the present-day I-10 high-rise bridge. The yard was shut down after the end of World War II. Sample of ships built: * SS ''Martin Behrman'' * SS ''Josiah Parker'' * SS ''Timothy Bloodworth'' * USS ''Hesperia'' (AKS-13) * SS ''Charles Henderson'' * SS ''Benjamin Contee'' * USS ''Panda'' (IX-125) * USS ''Gratia'' (AKS-11) * USS ''Cybele'' (AKS-10) * USS ''Kochab'' (AKS-6) * USS ''Porcupine'' (IX-126) * USS ''Basilan'' * SS ''James Eagan Layne'' * USS ''Burias'' (AG-69) * USS ''Wildcat'' (AW-2) * USS ''Stag'' (AW-1) * USS ''Hecuba'' (AKS-12)

Toledo Shipbuilding Company

The

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 ...

, which became an operating unit of the American Shipbuilding Company by consolidation in 1945, was itself the builder of several of the most well-known coal-fired steamships of the Great Lakes, such as the (built in 1911).

Steinbrenners

In the early 1960s, the American Ship Building Company acquired Kinsman Marine Transit Company, which was owned by the

Steinbrenner family The Steinbrenners are an American family of Irish-German descent. The family has owned the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball since George Steinbrenner purchased the franchise in 1973. After George's death, Hal Steinbrenner, his son, beca ...

. As a result of the transaction, the Steinbrenner family acquired a controlling interest in American Ship Building. Frustrated after years of fighting with unions over cost-saving work changes, the Steinbrenners closed the Lorain shipyard in December 1983 and moved all operations to Tampa, Florida. The principal member of the Steinbrenner family who was involved in the operation of the company at this time was

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

, who by then already was becoming better known as the principal owner of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. The company began having difficulties in the 1980s, going through a bankruptcy in 1993. The company was sold in 1995.

References

External links

AmShip Lorain, Lorain OH
{{Authority control 1888 establishments in Ohio American companies established in 1888 Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Ohio Lorain, Ohio Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland Manufacturing companies established in 1888