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bridge, was in turn leveled by the railroad to provide more room for trackage to newly-developed docks along the west side of the river. Work was begun in 1910 and completed in 1912. Much of the machinery was brought from the St. Clair, Michigan yard of the Company, which had just been closed down. The graving dock built was 575 feet on the blocks, 102 feet wide at the top, and had sixteen feet of water over the sill. On April 6, 1912, the steamer Louis Davidson was launched from this yard. The Ashtabula Chamber of Commerce gave a dinner to honor the shipyard officials after the launching at which time president Antonio C. Pessano of the Great Lakes firm announced that the keels of two ocean steamers would be laid at Ashtabula almost immediately. These vessels were ultimately the George Hawley and Edison Light, launched in 1912. Between 1913 and 1917, nine steamers and one tug were built at the Ashtabula yard. Seven of those freighters were built for ocean interests. In 1917 the yard joined the organization of the Emergency Fleet Corporation for the duration of World War I. Between 1917 and 1920, twenty-seven freighters of the "Laker" design were launched. In 1923, two vessels, the Twin Ports and Twin Cities, designed for service between New York and the Great Lakes via the Erie Canal, were built. Following this, ship building contracts failed to materialize. Consequently, little building was done in the Ashtabula yard until 1943. The U. S. Maritime Commission contracted for four bulk freighters to carry the desperately needed ore. These vessels were launched as the Pilot Knob (later Frank Armstrong), Clarence B. Randall, J. H. Hillman, Jr., and Pilot Knob 2nd (later Steelton). The last vessel built at this yard was the supply boat Ojibway (1946) for the Pittsburgh Steamship Company's operations at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The yard was used for vessel repairs until 1955 when it was closed down because of the difficulty in navigating the Ashtabula River by large freighters.30 It was reopened in 1957 when the cement carrier Paul H, Townsend was lengthened and rebuilt. The manner in which she was rebuilt is rather novel. First the new mid-body was built in the dry dock. When the Townsend arrived, the new section was floated out, and the ship was backed into the dry dock. She was then cut apart and the forward end floated out. The new section, followed by the forward section, was floated back in and the vessel rejoined. Ralph Brandt was the superintendent in charge of the operation. 109