Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Adz, Caulk, and Rivets: A History of Ship Building along Ohio's Northern Shore, 1963, 2017, p. 37

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possibility that among his master carpenters were John D. Bugbee, J. G. Shaler, and Perry White. Perry White maintained a shipyard in Geneva Township, on the beach where Indian Creek enters Lake Erie. In 1869 he built the scow Vampire whose launching attracted a large crowd. They were doomed to disappointment as the large craft grounded. It took three days of constant work to float her. Little has been learned about Perry White, although he built vessels at Conneaut, Ashtabula, and Indian Creek. A schooner Perry White was built at Ashtabula in the 1850's, and Perry White was designing fish tugs in Ashtabula as late as the l890's. Actually Ashtabula was of secondary importance during the era of wooden shipbuilding. It was not until after the turn of the century that shipbuilding - steel hulls - gave her any kind of a reputation. Lake County Madison Dock On the 28th of June, 1796, Alexander Harper and his family landed at the mouth of a creek known today as Arcole Creek. A small community called Ellensbury sprang up. The creek became known as Cunningham's Creek, after John Cunningham who purchased several plots on either side of it. In the 1830's, to the south, the community of Arcole was founded. At one time, over 2,000 ironworkers operated two blast furnaces at Arcole. Cunningham's Creek commanded enough business to warrant a light house. A three-story hotel, the Allen House, was built at Madison Dock, and its bar was by far the most popular spot in town for the thirsty sailors and ironworkers.17 It was in this prosperous atmosphere that shipbuilding began at Madison Dock. Legend has a man named Fuller building a small steamboat here in 1825. Supposedly he forged the spikes himself, and built the engine cylinder of wood heavily banded with iron.18 In 1835, Joel R. Norton built the schooner Helen for Judson Harper and Moseley, but the new owners ran into financial difficulties and the vessel was sold to Richmond and Shepard. She was followed in 1845 by the tug George Mitchell and in 1846 by the schooner Philena Mills for Eliakin Roberts and James Mills of Unionville, Ohio, and George Turner of Geneva. The Lockwoods ultimately built eight other schooners and one scow-schooner between 1848 and 1852 at Madison Dock. 24

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