Former Site of Harlan & Hollingsworth, Bethlehem Steel & Dravo Shipyards (Wilmington, Delaware)

 military, factory, shipyard, historical layer / disappeared object

Founded in 1837 as the Harlan & Hollingsworth Railcar Company and expanding into commercial shipbuilding in 1843, the Harlan & Hollingsworth Shipyard launched their first steamship, the SS Ashland in 1844. As one of the few technologically advanced shipyards in the United States, capable of constructing Iron ships, the yards services were in high demand at a time when sail-powered wooden ships were giving way to steam-powered Iron-hulled ships as the preferred way to travel and transport cargo over water.

The yard quickly built a good reputation for sound and reliable construction practices and soon had order books full of steamships, ferries and tugs for dozens of commercial clients. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the yards production decreased as raw materials went to the war effort, but US Navy orders saw the yard constructing three Ironclads for the Union before wars end in 1865 when commercial shipbuilding resumed. Remaining highly profitable through 1900, Harlan & Hollingsworth sold their interests in the shipyard to Bethlehem Steel in 1904, which both enlarged and upgraded the yards facilities for the construction of ocean-going vessels as well as smaller coastal steamships and ferries.

With the entrance of the US into WWI, the shipyard received a large grant from the US Shipping Board to begin immediate construction of cargo ships for the war effort, however few saw action as intended in World War I since most were completed after the Armistice. The post-war foreign policy atmosphere of the 1920's saw a dramatic reduction in the amount of available work for shipyards across the country, and Bethlehem's yard was no different. By 1925 orders had trickled to a halt and with the launching of the Tank Barge Seaboard No. 55 in 1926, the yard ceased operations.

Within a year of the shuttering of vessel production, a large portion of the former shipyard was purchased by the Dravo Corporation, a barge builder from Pittsburgh, in 1926. Vessel production resumed onsite in 1928 and continued through the lean years of the Great Depression, with a steady stream of coastal and ocean-going barges being manufactured onsite. Gathering war clouds on the horizon at the end of the 1930's brought renewed government interest and funding to the shipyard, and Bethlehem Steel reopened their remaining section of the shipyard after the outbreak of War in the US in December 1941. Both Dravo and Bethlehem worked in tandem to produce several types of craft for the US Navy, most notably 15 Destroyer Escorts and several derrick barges, but their combined efforts and Dravo's innovative barge construction techniques allowed both yards to construct, outfit and commission over 50 LSM's (Landing Ship Medium) Amphibious ships for the final stages of the Pacific War. All of the LSM's built at Dravo saw active service before the end of the War, many landing troops at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. At it's peak production, the Dravo yard alone boasted seven dedicated side-launch facilities and employed over 11,000 workers on round-the-clock shifts.

The postwar commercial atmosphere made a significant impact on operations at the yard as Bethlehem Steel again closed down operations and liquidated their facilities to repay war loans. Dravo's operations continued onsite for another 20 years in a much reduced capacity, but still primarily constructing barges and tugboats before the yard shut down for the final time in 1965. Though several firms and outfits launched plans to utilize the grounds of the shipyard, none came to pass and the space went fallow for several decades.

Urban renewal reclaimed the silent grounds of the Harlan & Hollingsworth, Bethlehem Steel & Dravo Shipyards at the end of the 1900's and most of the land was converted into public spaces, now known collectively as Riverfront Wilmington. At the center of the sprawling lower section is Dravo Plaza, which features a riverwalk, dock for historic vessels and all of the shipyards original Whirley Cranes, used for ship construction and outfitting.

For a complete list of ships built here by Harlan & Hollingsworth and Bethlehem Steel please see:
shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inacti...

For a complete list of ships built here by the Dravo Corporation please see:
www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/in...

www.riverfrontwilm.com/