page_title: Badger's Island
section_title: Shipbuilding center
hierarchical_section_title: Badger's Island / History / Shipbuilding center
caption_attribution_description: English: Old Badger House, Badger's Island, Kittery, Maine. This was the home of William Badger (1752-1830), master shipbuilder and namesake of Badger's Island.
context_page_description: Badger's Island is located in the Piscataqua River at Kittery, Maine, directly opposite Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It carries U.S. Route 1 between the states, connecting to the Kittery mainland by the Badger's Island Bridge, and to New Hampshire by the Memorial Bridge. Now largely a suburb of Portsmouth, the island features houses, condominiums, restaurants and marinas.
context_section_description: Prior to the Civil War, Badger's Island was famous for shipbuilding. Eastern white pine for masts, together with lumber for hulls, arrived down the Piscataqua River from inland forests. Only two tenths of a mile (322 m) from Portsmouth's busy wharves, the island's gradual slope into the deep channel between was ideal for launching vessels. First called Rising Castle Island, it changed to Langdon's Island when John Langdon established his shipyard. The first U. S. Navy ships commissioned by the Continental Congress were built here by master shipbuilder James Hackett, including USS Ranger in 1777. One of his apprentices working on Ranger was William Badger. Acquiring 3 acres (12,000 m²) on the island in 1797, he would dominate its shipbuilding until his death in 1830, launching more than 100 ships, including naval vessels, merchant vessels and privateers. The region produced many fine shipbuilders, including his nephew Samuel Badger, but William Badger, called Master Badger, is best known. He is buried on the island that bears his name.
  In 1837, Frederick Fernald purchased Badger's shipyard. In 1844, he joined William Pettigrew to establish Fernald & Pettigrew, which would produce some 30 ships. Among their output was a series of clipper ships, including the Typhoon. Launched in 1851, Typhoon set a sailing record to Liverpool, England—13 days, 10 hours dock to dock. Known as the "Portsmouth Flyer," it was the largest merchant ship yet seen in that port. But Badger's Island would lose its importance as a shipbuilding center. The industry shifted downriver to Fernald's Island, home since 1800 to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
  U.S. Navy vessels built on Badger's Island:
  1776 — Raleigh - (22-gun Frigate)—depicted on the Seal of New Hampshire
  1777 — Ranger - (18-gun Sloop-of-war)—commanded by John Paul Jones
  1782 — America - (74-gun Ship of the line)—presented by Congress to Louis XVI of France
  1791 — Scammel - (14-gun Schooner)—one of the first ten revenue service cutters
  1797 — Crescent - (36-gun Frigate)—a tribute vessel for Algiers
  1798 — Portsmouth - (24-gun Sloop-of-war)—funded by the citizens of Portsmouth
  1799 — Congress - (38-gun Frigate)—fought in the War of 1812
  Clipper Ships built by Fernald & Pettigrew:
  1851 -- Typhoon, 1,611 tons
  1852 -- Red Rover, 1,021 tons
  1852 -- Young Australia, 766 tons
  1853 -- Water Witch, 1,204 tons
  1853 -- Dashing Wave, 1180 tons
  1854 -- Express, 1073 tons
  1854 -- Midnight, 962 tons
  1855 -- Noonday, 1189 tons
caption: William Badger House in 1912, Badger's Island
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