William H. Webb, New York NY

Isaac Webb and John Allen opened the Webb & Allen shipyard in 1825 on the site of the former Henry Eckford shipyard along Lewis Street between Fifth and Seventh Streets in Manhattan.  Upon Isaac Webb’s death in 1840, his son William investigated the accounts of the shipyard and found it to be bankrupt.  Webb dissolved that company and created a new shipyard, also called Webb & Allen.  In 1843, Webb bought out John Allen, who was retiring, and the yard became known simply as “William H. Webb”.  Between 1840 and 1869, the yard built 135 vessels, at a time when ship construction was evolving from wood and sail to iron and steam.  Some of the fastest clipper ships of the day were designed and built by Webb, as well as some of the most advanced steamships.  William H. Webb was a notable naval architect and  shipbuilder, but he is even better known as the founder, in 1889, of Webb Institute of Naval Architecture.  To this day, Webb Institute offers a fully-accredited engineering program in naval architecture which is tuition-free as a result of his philanthropy.

Thanks to Steve Pagan for researching the information presented here, much of which comes from "William H. Webb, Shipbuilder" by Edwin L. Dunbaugh and William duBarry Thomas, published by Webb Institute in 1989.

If anyone can provide any additional information about this shipyard, or about the ships it built, please e-mail me at tim@coltoncompany.com.