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town called Ohio City. After much heated argument, Ohio City was annexed by Cleveland in 1854. For purposes of this account, Ohio City's building activity will be considered as part of Cleveland's. By 1829 Cleveland could boast of a steam engine works, when Philip B. Andrews built an engine for the Winnebago Chief which was built at Green Bay, Wisconsin for service on the Fox River. The engine was the third built at Cleveland. These three engines were the only ones built in the vicinity of the lake up to that time. Andrews' works were on River Street in Ohio City. The Cleaveland Herald said optimistically: Experience has proved it to a moral certainty that Steam Engines can be built cheaper at Cleaveland than any other place on the Lakes, and for much less than they can be purchased and transported from Pittsburgh or Albany.35 Another important steam engine plant was the Cuyahoga Steam Furnace Company, which was incorporated March 3, 1834. In April 1834, the company was organized with the election of the principal stockholders as officers.36 The company had a fixed capital of $100,000.37 Shortly after incorporation the original building burned, after which an elaborate brick structure was built on the same ground--at the corner of Detroit and Center Streets in Ohio City. The company manufactured not only steam engines for lake vessels, but also turned out a great variety of other products including cannon, plows, and locomotives. The Cuyahoga works was in operation until 1887. With the opening of the Ohio Canal System about 1830, Cleveland became a veritable crossroads of trade in Ohio. Her wharves increased and her warehouses bulged. It was only natural that her shipbuilding industry should experience dramatic changes as well. From 1840 to 1870, the "Forest City" emerged as the leading shipbuilding port on the Great Lakes. From 1849 to 1869 alone, an estimated five hundred vessels were built in the District of Cuyahoga, comprising those ports from Conneaut to Black River, most of them built in the immediate Cleveland area! Through the middle 1830's, Cleveland shipbuilders satisfied the needs of the growing village. John Blair built the schooners Comet (fifty tons), Macedonia (sixty tons), and Lake Serpent (forty tons) in 1826. The Cleaveland Dry Dock Company, operated by John Nicholson & Son, was in existence as early as 1831. It must be assumed that they did only repair work as they have not been credited with building any vessels. 30