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TELESCOPE Page 60 the marine reporter wrote. Probably no shipbuilder was so well known for his product than George Goble. In fact, in the mid-19th century, it was not an un- common occurance to witness two or three ship launchings in a single week at the Goble shipyard at the foot of West Third Street. Four days after the J. Maria Scott glided into the water, the even larger schooner Boliva (143' x 26'21%2" x 12'3" 143 tons) was launched at Goble's under "a bright sky, a smooth lake and a fair breeze". This ship was built under the supervision of Peter Dufrane, who for many years had charge of the Shickluna shipyard at St. Catha- rines, Upper Canada. The hull was finished in grand style, disregardint the usual "barber pole" effect. The cabin had inside blinds, a new feature, the rest of the interior being done in imitation black walnut and curly maple. Ship chandler Lyons furnished the wire rigging for the Boliva. Ready for sea the schooner, owned by Morgan M. Wheeler, cost $25,000. Aloft, the canvas was furnished by Mr. Green, "whose sails always fit like a glove". Our friend, the marine reporter noted, ""she has an easy sheer, true to the line, with a good run and entrance..." He added, she was a three-and-after, "well fitted and fur- nished, and has everything required by a first class vessel, which she is. The Boliva is the largest vessel ever built at this port". In total, the Goble shipyard produced thirty-one schooners, two tugs, a yacht, two dredges and a launch, besides an untold number of small sailing craft, in a period stretching from 1854 to 1912. The story of George Goble is the story of the glory days of shipbuilding in Oswego. Born in Kinsale, Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland on August 1, 1819, Mr. Goble came to Oswego when he was 18 years of age. For 19 years he followed the trade of ship car- penter. Then he went into business for him- self, building vessels on the bank of the lake at the foot of West Fourth Street. In 1854 he appears to have been associated with the Crockett & Rogers shipyard at the foot of West Third and Fourth Streets. Ac- cording to the 1853 Oswego Directory, this yard possessed excellent facilities for ship- building and employed about fifty men. The yard was owned and operated by George Rogers and William Crockett. After a nearby grain elevator burned down in 1859, Goble purchased this property and built a graving drydock on the site of a former marine rail- way. He also took over the lake front property which was the former shipyard of George S. Weeks. It was here that many of the early steamboats were built by Weeks, who moved to Buffalo in 1854. Mr. Goble's first vessel of record appears to have been the schooner Titan, which was launched on May 6, 1856. At that time, the "Goble & Crockett" and Rogers shipyards appear to have been side by side at the foot of West Third and Fourth streets. Early in 1868, work was completed on the Ontario Dry Dock which was owned by F.G. Carrington and leased to George Goble and his partner, James McFarlane. The dock was 100 feet long, 60 feet wide at the top, drawing in slightly toward the bottom, and 12 feet at low water over the keel blocks. The total depth was 17 feet. It could accom- modate a vessel with a 25 foot beam. Ad- joining this dock was an enginehouse with a 50 horsepower engine which operated a rotary pump used to pump out the drydock. Also constructed was a steam planing mill 70 feet long, also operated by the same steam engine. Goble operated it in connection with his shipyard. George Goble 1819-1901 Author's Collection