Flint & Chapman, Bath ME
(later Flint & Co. and Chapman & Co., also know as John McDonald's yard)
Most recent update: April 13, 2016.
Flint & Chapman was started in Damariscotta ME in 1840 by Benjamin Flint Chapman and his brother Isaac Flint Chapman. They moved the business to Thomaston in 1843 and to Bath in 1868, where they were joined in 1873 by James Flint Chapman. In Bath, they began building ships for their own shipping company, which was based in Brooklyn, and for W. R. Grace & Co., in which Benjamin's son, Charles, was a partner. (The Santa Clara built by Flint & Chapman is believed to have been the first of the many Santas operated by Grace Line.) In 1888, they split the company into two - Chapman & Co. and Flint & Co. - but continued to work as a team. Because the Chapmans spent most of their time attending to the shipping company, many of the boats they built are credited in the industry references as having been built by John McDonald, who was actually the yard's General Manager. The yard was located on the south side of Bath, near Marshall Street and adjacent to the Donnell yard, where the Maine Maritime Museum is today. If anyone has any corrections or additions to the table below, please send them to timcolton@aol.com.
Hull # O.N. Original Name Original Owner Type GT Built Disposition
Alabama Chapman & Flint Bark 280 1840 Miltiades Chapman & Flint Bark 1846 Marmion Chapman & Flint Bark 1847 Catherine Chapman & Flint Bark 1847 Ionian Chapman & Flint Ship 1849 William Stetson Chapman & Flint Ship 1851 Oracle Chapman & Flint Ship 1853 Sold 1861 Isaac F. Chapman Chapman & Flint Ship 1855 St. James Chapman & Flint Ship 1856 Frank Flint Chapman & Flint Ship 1857 St. Mark Chapman & Flint Ship 1860 Oracle Chapman & Flint Ship 1862 23578 St. Lucia Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,318 1868 23801 St. Nicholas Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,798 1869 23891 St. John Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,885 1870 5949 C. R. Flint Chapman & Flint 4-masted Schooner 266 1871 W. R. Grace Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,893 1873 Wrecked 1889 off Lewes DE 16 92633 St. Steven Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 115300 St. Paul Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,893 1874 Leading Wind W. A. Rust Full Rigged Ship 1,208 1874 Later Fjord 90784 M. P. Grace Full Rigged Ship 1,928 1875 Foundered 1906 off Shinnecock Light 71047 J. B. Newcomb Taylor Bros. (Can) 3-masted Bark 811 1875 Later Taurus, sank 1895 in Bay of Biscay 115437 Santa Clara Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,535 1876 Still active 1915 115568 St. David Chapman & Flint Full Rigged Ship 1,595 1877 Later a barge, wrecked 1917 71059 Australia Taylor Bros. (Can) 3-masted Bark 1,008 1878 Later Emma, wrecked 1906 off Mobile AL 91180 Manuel Llaguno Full Rigged Ship 1,732 1879 To USN 1917 as Washington (SP-1241), wrecked 1919 in the Ambrose Channel L. Schepp Neptune Line Full Rigged Ship 1879 E. B. Sutton Neptune Line Full Rigged Ship 1881 105984 A. J. Fuller Flint & Co. Full Rigged Ship 1,848 1881 Sank 1918 in Elliott Bay WA 100316 I. F. Chapman Neptune Line Full Rigged Ship 2,155 1882 115835 St. Francis Full Rigged Ship 1,898 1882 S. B. Hitchcock Neptune Line Full Rigged Ship 1883 76381 John McDonald Full Rigged Ship 2,281 1883 115949 St. James Full Rigged Ship 1,578 1883 95828 Henry B. Hyde Full Rigged Ship 2,583 1884 Wrecked 1904 off Cape Henry VA 106318 A. G. Ropes Full Rigged Ship 2,342 1884 Lost in storm 1913 off Barnegat NJ 81094 W. B. Flint Libby, McNeill & Libby Bark 952 1885 Laid up 1923 in Puget Sound, burnt 1935 106529 Alice McDonald 4-masted Schooner 656 1888 14489 Kate S. Flint 4-masted Schooner 584 1889 92072 Myra B. Weaver 4-masted Schooner 524 1889 Later Satisfaction 116354 S. D. Carleton 3-masted Schooner 1,882 1890 Inactive 1914 ? 116362 St. Katharine Red Salmon Packing Bark 1,201 1890 150552 Pactolus Naknak Packing Bark 1,673 1891 Inactive 1927