Smith and Dimon Shipyard or just Smith & Dimon was a renowned

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 ...

on the east side of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

during the 1840s.

History

The shipyard was located along the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

between 4th and 5th Street. It was founded by partners Stephen Smith (1794–1875) and John Dimon (1795–1879). Dimon was in charge of the more profitable ship repair business and described the partnership saying, "Smith builds the ships, I make the money." John W. Griffiths was a famed

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

who designed revolutionary, fast

clipper ships A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. The term was also retrospectively applied to the Baltimore clipper, which originated in the late 18th century. Clippers were generally narrow for their lengt ...

for Smith & Dimon. The shipyard became famous for its work in the 1840s under the name Smith & Dimon. It was formerly Blossom, Smith and Dimon in the 1820s and then Smith, Dimon and Comstock in the 1830s. In addition to clipper ships, the shipyard also built

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s, including the 1848 steamship ''

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

''. James Pringle painted the shipyard in 1833. The painting is on display at the

Fenimore Art Museum The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York, Cooperstown, New York (state), New York on the west side of Otsego Lake (New York), Otsego Lake. Collection strengths ...

Ships built at Smith & Dimon

*'' Liberator'', 1826. (Later named ''Hudson'') *''Mary Howland'', 500 ton, noted for its size. *''Roscoe'',

Packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

*''Independence'', 1834 Packet boat *''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'', 1845. Said to be the first

extreme clipper An extreme clipper was a clipper designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed. They had a bow lengthened above the water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft. In the United States, extreme clipp ...

. *'' Sea Witch'', 1846, a model for American fast clippers. *''

'', 1848 *''

Memnon In Greek mythology, Memnon (; Ancient Greek: Μέμνων, ) was a king of Aethiopia and son of Tithonus and Eos. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense and killed Antilochus, Nestor (mythology), Nestor's son, during a fi ...

'', 1848 *'' Arago'', 1855 *'' Fulton'', 1855

References

External links

"The Smith and Dimon Shipyard on the East River, New York," by James Pringle, 1833
at the Library of Congress. American shipbuilders Defunct companies based in New York City Maritime history of the United States Shipyards of New York (state) {{US-shipping-company-stub