page_title: Lawrence & Foulks
section_title: Early years, 1850s–1860
hierarchical_section_title: Lawrence & Foulks / History / Early years, 1850s–1860
caption_attribution_description: English: USS De Soto (1861-1868) In the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1868. The original print is mounted on a carte de visite.
context_page_description: Lawrence & Foulks was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company based in New York. Established in the early 1850s, the company built 144 vessels of all types over the course of some fifty years, but is best known for its production of high-speed wooden-hulled steamboats and steamships. Notable vessels built by the company include the record-breaking Hudson River steamboat Chauncey Vibbard, the luxury Long Island Sound steamer Commonwealth, and the fast oceangoing steamships—later U.S. Navy gunboats—Bienville and De Soto. In addition to the domestic market, the company also built ships for service as far afield as South America and China.
  Lawrence & Foulks was one of the few New York shipyards to survive the post-Civil War slump, but was either unwilling or unable to make the postwar transition from wooden to iron shipbuilding, and closed its doors around the turn of the century.
context_section_description: Through the 1850s, Lawrence & Foulks built a number of steamers and other vessels for South American clients, including the 300-ton Spanish steamers General Concha and General Serrano for Cuban service; a large steamer for the Río de la Plata; and two small high-pressure riverboats for the Peruvian government destined for service on the Amazon. Two 1,300-ton steamers for Californian service were also completed.
  In 1855, Lawrence & Foulks completed construction of the Long Island Sound steamer Commonwealth. Setting a new standard of elegance for Sound steamers, this large, lavishly outfitted steamer quickly became a favorite with the travelling public. In 1859–60, Lawrence & Foulks built the fast oceangoing steamships De Soto and Bienville, sister ships designed for passenger-cargo service between New York and New Orleans. Both vessels were later purchased by the U.S. Navy and would serve with distinction during the Civil War as gunboats.
caption: SS De Soto, built by Lawrence & Foulks in 1859. She served as USS De Soto during the Civil War.
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