Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-24
HISTORY OF THE YARDS.
Idea Of Inland ShipbuiIdinE Plant
Su@Scstcd by. Commodore Melville.


Suggested by Commodore Melville.
The William 2 TrigE Company may be
said Ia have had its inception in August
1888. though the idea mad tor several years
had Judgement in the mind of Mr.. VIII
liam r. TTigg, OF this city The orlg1na
! suggestion from which the idea Of build
ing ships in this city sprang was made
! by Commodore Melville, of the construc-
ton department OF the United States
navy. . year or two before when during
the administration OF Mr.. Cleveland Great
Britain threatened aggression in Nenc-
! zuela, and was warned by the President
| to hold hands off. This necessity for
pointing to the Monroe coctrine and de-
manGinc its assertion aroused the couil-
4 try TO the Importance of more thorough
/ preparedness in the event of q formula
/ BILE foreign war. for such war would,
F.! of necessity. be chiefly a naval war
Al such = time, when the country h2d
+! narrowly avoided terrific clash at arms
! with the greatest naval power on earth
1 the idea OF establishing inland sfip-build-
/ ing plants had its conception. Old Adj
4 Iniral tthcn Commodore Melville had been
/ 10 Richmond during the civil war or soon
/ afterwarG and had been impressed with
! the availability Of this city as point
! for ship construction remote frc;n dam
! AFTER SPANISH WAR
The danger of war passed when Great
| Britain respected the Monroe doctrine and
| abandoned its hostile intentions in Ven
eZueia. The idea Of an inland ship-build-
ing plant slunbered until the Spanish
war Then il again sprang into activity.
and from this second consideration of the
necessity for increasing. The country's
naval strength came the Ship-yard, begun
by the William R. Trigg Company. Hav-
! ing just passed through a naval war
which at one time threa tened TO be more
serious than it proved. the government
determined 10 increase its facilities for
sllip-bulding. both in times Of war and
peace.
Ii was on August %. 1895, that Mr. Will
liam r. Trigg. president of the Richmond
Locomotive and Machine Works. as that
plant was then known. returned from
Washington aud announced that he had
submitted the lowest bids for the con-
Struction OF five torpedo-boat destroycrs
and four torpedo-boats. he had evident
ly considered the matter, and had been
in correspondence and consultation as 10
his plans for many months before for
il developed that before going 70 Wash
ington he had leased the plant of the ole
Talbot Machine Works. at Seventeenth
and Cary streets. and had secured from
the railway company the right 70 use the
rock in that vicinity. The announcement
came as n surprise to the people OF Rich
mond. few Of whom suspected Lat such
enterprise was even in contenpla-
ton.
THE FIRST CONTRACTS.
When the awards were made Mr.. Trigg
secured the contracts for building three
torpedo boats and two destroyeTs. They
We're the Shubrick, Stockton. and Thorn
ton, and the destroyers Dale and Deca-
tar. all of which have since been com
pleted and delivered.
il was not untiI october 9, 1885. that the
William r, Trgg Company was charter
ed the charter being granted by the Law
aud Equity Court OF this city to William
r. TTigg, James N Boyu, Nirginius New
ton J. J. Montague, w. c. Preston, and
placed at from 100000 to 100000. divided
into shares of 500 each. The officers
named We're William r. Trigg, president;
Lillourn T. Myers, vice-president; ". c.
PreSon secretary and these direG5ers
T. Myers r. S. Bosher, Thomas Atkin-
son, and w G. Preston.
GROWTH OF THREE YEARS.
From that beginning the present enor
nous plant has grown in three years
The first boat completed was the torpedo
boat Stockton. but the Shubmck, another
OF the same pattern. was first launched |
1899 President Mckinley was here 70
witness the christening ceremonies. and |
the occasion was in many respects !
memorable one. The five boats originally
and meanwhile number OF contracts for |
steamers, tugs, dredges. and cutters were |
secured, so that the yard has not only |
been operating continuously since the In |
aueuration Of the enterprise. but has |
been steadily charging its equipment and
scope. At first the idea Of building war
ships at this city was received with skep-
ticisn1, not to say ridicule. especially by
The seashore cities Within three years |
a protected cruiser OF the second class
had been completed, and steamship OF
il. 600 tons displacement is under contract
Those who began to laugh have since be-
gun 10 praise the enterprise and the sue
cess Of the venture.
COVERS ENORMOUS AREA.
The yards originally embraced but six
or seven acres that being its extent at
the time when the torpedo boats Were
launched II now covers an area OF forty
five acres. and embraces All enormous
outlay OF capital, being one Of the pest
equipped plants on the Atlantic or ada
cent thereto.
are the hull department and the ma
ctlnery department the hrst e'nlloSius
cearly one thousand men. and the sac
md nearly five hundred. Besides TINS, |
here is an electric department, the mum
Ter Of employees of which varies from
four or five men TO thlrty or lolts, DC
,ording TO the needs.
The equipment of the plant embraces
many fine pieces of apparatus and me-
.hanical and labor-savins appliances.
.rane with a lifting capacity, Of ten tons.
md two others .vith lifting capacity
,f twenty-five tons each
OUTSIDE CRANES.
Outside of the building there are three
even and a-half ton Gentry cranes for
,se oyer the shipbuilding slips; one three
IN cable way. $50 feet long for use over
he shipbuildins slips: one '.ree-ton ca
lie way 100 feet long i2r trans1'it'ila
Material from the punch shed TO The sips.
hi of, these are operated BY electricity.
he term tons indicating the capacity or
i,S cranes TO lift materials. Besides this
i is one tcn-ton locomotive crate
,isat is to say, operated by steam us"d
=, handling material S'ound the yi,ii,s
nd shifting cars. Then there is float I
ng derrick of Iortv. tons capacity, and
Dating machine shop for use by the
ock engines. ,,,4 az,
on,nanv TO enlarge its facilities for work
!, sso feet long. with caissons 50 feet wide
nd Is feet draft over the sills. In the
OF this dock considerable
vnavation and even more filling were {
eTIIE WORK CLASSIFIED.
JIere is q summary OF the various de-
artnae,lts the number Of them giving.