Did You Know? 💭
At one time there were over 22 shipyards in Bath, putting out about 25% of the wooden ships built in the U.S. In the 1740s, Bath’s shipbuilding industry flourished thanks to its abundant timber, skilled labor and protected, ice-free river. Local yards built sloops and schooners that traded lumber and ice for Caribbean sugar and molasses. After independence, new laws and the rise of cotton trade spurred the construction of even larger ships for European routes.
By the 1840s, Bath was a global maritime leader and by the 1850s, the city was the fifth-largest port in the U.S. However, the Civil War crippled the industry as Southern trade routes collapsed, and Confederate privateers disrupted international shipping.