(formerly Webb & Allen)
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 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 The Webb Academy and Home for Shipbuilders, now known as the 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, please e-mail me at timcolton@aol.com.
Hull # O.N. Original Name Original Owner Type GT Built Disposition Built by Webb & Allen Crawford U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1830 Sold 1835 Dexter U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1830 Sold 1841 Richard Rush U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1831 Sold 1851 Wolcott U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1831 Sold 1836 Ingham U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1832 Sold 1836 as Independence, later Independencia McLane U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1832 Sold 1840 Washington U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1832 Sold 1837 Jefferson U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1833 Wrecked 1857 Taney U.S. Revenue Service Cutter 112 1834 Sold 1858 Natchez NO-La-NY Line Packet 523 1831 Saratoga NO Old Line Packet 542 1832 Alabamian E. D. Hurlbut & Co. Packet 400 1833 Dream Yacht 1833 Columbus Black Ball Line Packet 663 1834 St. James Red Swallowtail Line Packet 641 1835 Oxford Black Ball Line Packet 752 1836 Burgundy Havre Old Line Packet 762 1836 Louis Philippe Havre Old Line Packet 794 1837 Ville de Lyon Havre Old Line Packet 791 1837 Cambridge Black Ball Line Packet 798 1837 Duchesse d'Orleans Havre Old Line Packet 798 1838 New York Black Ball Line Packet 862 1839 Iowa Havre Old Line Packet 874 1839 Built by William H. Webb 1 Malek Adhel Peter Harmony & Company Brig 114 1840 2 James Edward James G. Ward Ship 433 1840 3 Agnes Frederick A. Wiseman Ship 429 1841 4 Helena N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 597 1841 Lost on voyage from China to Havana 1856 5 Liberty James W. Phillips Packet 689 1842 6 Wallabout J. A. Cross Steam Ferry 189 1842 Converted to a barge 1858 7 New York J. A. Cross Steam Ferry 189 1842 To St. Patrick's Cathedral 1850, abandoned 1854 8 Pronta Unknown Sloop 36 1842 9 Viva Unknown Sloop 36 1842 10 Ligera Unknown Schooner 46 1842 11 Montezuma C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 924 1843 Stranded off Jones Beach 1854 12 Cohota N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 691 1843 Sold to British owners 1860 13 Yorkshire C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 996 1844 Lost on voyage from New York 1862 14 Vigilant U.S. Revenue Service Revenue Cutter 50 1843 Lost in hurricane at Key West FL 1844 15 Zurich Fox & Livingston Packet 817 1844 Stranded on Hainsboro Sands 1879 16 Montauk William S. Wetmore Pre-Clipper 505 1844 Believed burned by crew after landing slaves in Cuba 1860 17 Ramon De Zaldo Unknown Brig 150 1844 18 Panama N. L. & G. Griswold Pre-Clipper 612 1844 Wrecked on Memory Rock, Grand Bahama Island 1865 19 Havre Fox & Livingston Packet 870 1845 Believed broken up 1908 20 Silas Holmes William Nelson & Company Packet 644 1845 Ran aground off Dry Tortugas 1859, salvaged but foundered en route to New Orleans 21 Fidelia C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 895 1845 22 Genil Castellain & Ponvert Sidewheel Steamer 512 1846 Burned off Cuba 1846 23 Marmion Taylor & Merrill Packet 903 1846 Foundered off Cape Flattery 1879 24 Columbia C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1050 1846 25 Williamsburg Fleming Duncan Steam Ferry 285 1846 Dismantled 1867 26 Bavaria William Whitlock, Jr. Packet 908 1846 27 Admiral Fox & Livingston Packet 929 1846 28 Sir Robert Peel Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 940 1846 29 New York Fox & Livingston Packet 991 1847 Wrecked near Barnegat 1856 30 Isaac Wright C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1129 1847 Burned near Liverpool 1858 31 United States C. H. Marshall and others Sidewheel Steamer 1857 1847 Damaged by fire in the Thames 1862, sank 1866 32 Ivanhoe Taylor & Merrill Packet 1156 1847 Lost off Montauk 1851 33 Yorktown Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1150 1847 Condemned after heavy weather damage in the Azores 1868 34 London Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1145 1848 35 Caleb Grimshaw Samuel Thompson & Nephew Packet 988 1848 Burned at sea near the Azores 1849 36 Ajax Several New York firms Sidewheel Towboat 332 1848 Stranded off Cape Cod, October 1858 37 California Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 1057 1848 First steamship to enter the Golden Gate, wrecked off Peru 1894 38 Panama Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 1139 1848 To Mexico 1868, armed and renamed Juarez 39 Cherokee NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1244 1848 Damaged by fire 1863, scrapped 1868 40 Tennessee NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1275 1949 Wrecked off Golden Gate 1853 41 Samuel M. Fox Fox & Livingston Schooner 257 1849 42 Goliah Several New York firms Sidewheel Towboat 333 1849 Dismantled and burned 1899 43 Guy Mannering Taylor & Merrill Packet 1418 1849 Wrecked off Iona 1866 44 Gallia Henry Robinson Packet 1190 1849 45 James Drake Spofford, Tileson & Company Packet 482 1849 Later Goa 46 Albert Gallatin Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1435 1849 Lost rudder and abandoned near Cape Horn 1875 47 Catharine Schuchardt & Gebhard Ship 610 1849 48 Manhattan C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1299 1850 Departed Liverpool for New York, March 14, 1863, never heard from again 49 Isaac Webb C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1359 1850 Broke up in a gale, October 1880 50 Vanguard James W. Phillips Packet 1196 1850 Driven ashore in a gale at Matane, Quebec, October 13 1877 51 Florida NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1261 1851 Later sold to USN and used for blockade service 52 Alabama NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1261 1851 Later sold to USN and used for blockade service 53 Celestial Bucklin & Crane Extreme Clipper 860 1850 Sold to Spanish owners 1858 54 Joseph Walker Samuel Thompson & Nephew Packet 1325 1850 Burned and sank at pier in New York, December 27 1853 55 Union Spofford, Tileson & Company Sidewheel Steamer 1200 1851 Later sold to Austrian owners, renamed America, scrapped 1875 56 Golden Gate Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 2067 1851 Burned near Manzanillo, Mexico, July 24 1862, with loss of 175 57 Samuel M. Fox Fox & Livingston Packet 1060 1850 Grounded and broke up on Great Burbo Bank, River Mersey, November 12 1856 58 Isaac Bell Fox & Livingston Packet 1072 1851 Grounded on the Yangtzse Kiang, August 7, 1860 59 Gazelle Taylor & Merrill Extreme Clipper 1244 1851 Dismasted 1854, condemned and sold to Peruvian owners as Cora, later Harry Puddemsey under British ownership 60 Challenge N. L. & G. Griswold Extreme Clipper 2006 1851 Later Golden City, under British ownership, lost off French coast in 1876 after losing rudder 61 Great Western C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1443 1851 Burnt 1882 and scrapped 62 Comet Bucklin & Crane Extreme Clipper 1836 1851 Later sold to British owners as Fiery Star, sank after wool cargo caught fire, April 1865 63 Invincible James W. Phillips Medium Clipper 1768 1851 Later sold to British owners, burned in New York harbor, September 1867 64 Swordfish Barclay & Livingston Medium Clipper 1036 1851 Lost at mouth of Yangtze Kiang, July 1862 65 James Adger Spofford, Tileson & Company Sidewheel Steamer 1151 1852 Sold to USN as USS James Adger for Civil War, retuned, scrapped 1877-78 66 Plandome Samuel L. Mitchill Schooner 266 1852 Sometimes referred to as Plendome 67 Manhasset Bernard Flanner Schooner 266 1852 68 Annawan Wakeman, Dimon & Company Ship 795 1852 Later sold to British owners as Royal Saxon 69 Robert Mills Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 488 1852 Lost February 28, 1860 at Holyhead New Harbour, North Wales 70 Australia Williams & Guion Packet 1447 1852 Ran aground on Frying Pan Shoal and lost, March 2, 1865 71 George Law US Mail Steamship Company Sidewheel Steamer 2141 1853 Later Central America(n?), lost in a gale, September 12, 1857 with loss of 423 72 Flying Dutchman George B. Daniels and others Medium Clipper 1257 1852 Stranded at Brigantine Beach, NJ, February 14, 1858 73 Augusta NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1310 1853 Sold to USN as USS Augusta for Civil War service, afterwards Magnolia, lost in storm, September 30, 1877 74 Reemplazo J. Carela and M. Garcia Schooner 110 1852 75 Volante Schiff Brothers & Company Brig 307 1853 Later sold to Argentinian owners 76 Fanny John Wendell Barkentine 150 1853 Dismasted and abandoned March 1853, sighted adrift as late as November 1853 77 Knoxville NY & Savannah S.N. Co Sidewheel Steamer 1240 1854 Burned at pier in New York, December 22 1856 78 Young America George B. Daniels Extreme Clipper 1961 1853 Sold to Austrian owners as Miroslav 1883, last seen departing the Delaware Capes February 1886 79 Flyaway Schiff Brothers & Company Medium Clipper 1274 1853 Sold to Spanish owners as Concepcion 1859, to British owners as Bothalwood; stranded January 20, 81 at St. Ouen's Bay, Jersey 80 San Francisco Pacific Mail Steamship Co. Sidewheel Steamer 2272 1853 Abandoned and foundered in gale, January 5 1854 81 Josephine Macondry & Company Brig 268 1853 82 Snap Dragon Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 618 1853 83 John Bright Williams & Guion Packet 1444 1854 Struck a reef at Capo de Sao Roque, Brazil on December 10, 1874; abandoned 84 Milton Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 536 1853 85 Cultivator James C. Ward Packet 1448 1854 Sprung a leak in a gale 600 miles WSW of Fastnet light, abandoned on April 9 1880 86 Harvest Queen C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1383 1854 Struck by White Star Liner Adriatic in the Irish Channel on December 30 1875, sunk with loss of all hands 87 Thornton Williams & Guion Packet 1422 1854 Grounded on approach to river Mersey and broke up, November 1867 88 Houston Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 518 1854 89 Pelayo Cuban owners Sidewheel Steamer 850 1854 90 General Admiral Imperial Russian Government Steam Frigate 1859 Disposition unknown, replaced in the 1870's by a ship of the same name 91 Aurora Grinnell, Minturn & Company Packet 1639 1854 Burned in Calcutta February 5 1884 92 James Foster, Jr. C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1410 1855 Sold to German owners in 1881 as Hudson 93 New Orleans Stanton & Thomson Packet 924 1855 Sailed from New York February 1864, never heard from again 94 Neptune C.H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1406 1855 Grounded and broke up on Sable Island, Nova Scotia April 1876 95 Alamo Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 507 1855 Later sold to German, then British owners 96 Astoria Unknown Screw Steamer 428 1855 Sold to Russian owners as Alexander II, later US-flag again as Alexander, then back to Russia as Alexander II 97 Texas Wakeman, Dimon & Company Bark 554 1855 Departed New York December 1862, never heard from again 98 Sabine Wakeman, Dimon & Company Brig 399 1855 Burned at sea SSW of Galveston, October 2 1859 99 America Imperial Russian Government Sidewheel Steamer 544 1855 100 Silas Wright Williams & Guion Packet 1340 1856 Lost in a gale in the river Mersey, November 12 1856 101 Fanny Holmes Post, Smith & Company Bark 700 1855 Burned while loading cotton at Appalachicola, April 3 1860 102 John H. Elliott Post, Smith & Company Packet 1077 1856 Grounded in the river Mersey January 1863, abandoned, burned 103 Alice Tainter Post, Smith & Company Bark 667 1856 To Bermudan flag 1864 104 Cuba Cuban owners Sidewheel Steamer 820 1856 To Cuban flag upon delivery 105 Intrepid Bucklin & Crane Medium Clipper 1173 1856 Aground March 31 1860 at Belvedere Reef in the Gaspar Strait, attacked by pirates, abandoned and burned by crew 106 Guatemala Unknown Sidewheel Steamer 217 1856 To Belize flag upon delivery 107 Ocean Monarch Stanton & Frost Packet 2145 1856 Cargo shifted March 9 1862 in Atlantic, partially abandoned, presumed lost 108 Uncowah Wakeman, Dimon & Company Medium Clipper 988 1856 Set afire by Chinese laborers en route from Macao to Callao in 1870; crew abandoned ship but 425 laborers perished 109 William H. Webb Chambers & Heiser Sidewheel Towboat 655 1856 To Confederate Navy in 1865 as CSS William H. Webb or CSS Webb, burned April 23, 1865, 24 miles below NOLA 110 Black Hawk Bucklin & Crane Medium Clipper 1175 1857 Sold to German owners in 1881, later to Norwegians as Christiana; condemned after fire in February 1891 111 Roger A. Heirn Post, Smith & Company Packet 1088 1857 To British registry 1865; lost anchor during gale in Mobile Bay December 16 1865, ran aground at Sand Island, total loss 112 Trieste W. A. Sale & Co Bark 549 1857 113 Moses Taylor United States Mail SS Co Sidewheel Steamer 1370 1857 Later used as a stores hullk at Acapulco. 114 Resolute Williams & Guion Packet 1412 1858 Transferred to Dutch owners 1884, abandoned in North Atlantic 1886 after losing rudder and sails. 115 Harriet Lane U.S. Revenue Service Revenue Cutter 674 1857 Rebuilt as a bark in 1869 as Elliot Ritchie, sprang leak and was abandoned off Brazil March 22 1884. 116 Japanese Imperial Russian Government Steam Corvette 1530 1858 Sometimes spelled Japanis. 117 Martinho de Mello Portuguese Government Bark 622 1858 Built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY. 118 Yorktown New York & Virginia SS Co Sidewheel Steamer 1403 1859 Seized by CSN as CSS Patrick Henry April 1861, later CSN school ship, burned in Richmond to prevent capture April 3 1865 119 Harvest Queen C. B. Fessenden Bark 315 1860 120 Mississippi Samuel L. Mitchill Sidewheel Steamer 2026 1861 Purchased by USN after delivery, returned to commercial service 1865, broken up 1878. 121 Alexander Marshall C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1177 1860 Dismasted and leaking from gale in 1869, abandoned in North Atlantic. 122 Constitution Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3315 1861 Intentionally sunk to extinguish a fire at San Francisco October 1877, demolished 1878. 123 Re d'Italia Italian Navy Steam Ironclad 1863 Rammed and sunk by Austrian ironclad July 20 1866. 124 Don Luigi di Portogallo Italian Navy Steam Ironclad 1864 Rammed but not sunk by an Austrian ironclad. 125 Golden City Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3373 1863 Stranded on Cape San Lazaro February 22 1870, broke up. 126 Sacramento Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2647 1864 Stranded and broke up near San Geronimo, Baja California on December 5 1872. 127 Colorado Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3357 1865 Laid up 1876, demolished 1881. 128 Dunderberg United States Navy Steam Ironclad 1867 Sold to the French in 1867 as Rochambeau, disposed 1872. 129 Henry Chauncey Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2656 1865 Sold for scrap July 1877. 130 Montana Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2676 1866 Built by Eckford Webb under subcontract at Greenpoint NY, retired 1877. 131 Bristol Merchants Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2962 1867 Burned at Newport RI December 30 1888. 132 Providence Merchants Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 2962 1867 Dismantled autumn 1901 133 China Pacific Mail Steamship Co Sidewheel Steamer 3836 1867 Sold for scrap 1885; the cabin was saved and is open to the public in Belvedere CA. 134 James A. Borland S. W. Lewis & Company Bark 637 1869 Wrecked on Tugidak Island AK 1896. 135 Charles H. Marshall C. H. Marshall & Co. Packet 1683 1869 Sold Norwegian as Souverain 1887; caught fire loading coal near Cardiff, Wales on March 20 1891.