Montgomery & Howard

Montgomery & Howard

Launch of the Steamer City of Taunton at the Shipyards of Montgomery & Howard.
Company type	Private
Industry	Shipbuilding
Genre	Written
Founded	1867
Founders	Jabez K. Montgomery and A. L. Howard
Defunct	1904
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	Marginal Street, Chelsea, Massachusetts , Suffolk County
Area served	New England
Products	Wooden-hulled steamships and other watercraft
Services	Ship repairs

Montgomery & Howard was a 19th-century American shipbuilding company started by Jabez K. Montgomery and A. L. Howard in 1867. The shipyard was on Marginal Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Some of the finest boats in the New England cost were designed and built by them. The company stayed in business until 1904. The sidewheel passenger steamer Old Colony was the last vessel that the firm built.

History

During the American Civil War Jabez K. Montgomery and A. L. Howard worked for a large shipbuilding firm in Portland, Maine, where they constructed gunboats for the United States Navy. Both men were born in Warren, Maine, and were school boy friends. In 1867, they came to Chelsea, Massachusetts, to start the Montgomery & Howard shipbuilding company.^[1]

The Montgomery & Howard shipyard was at 37 Marginal Street in Chelsea, Massachusetts, at the foot of Hawthorne Street. They built passenger steamboats, pilot boats, and ferryboats. Some of the finest boats in the New England coast were designed and built by them. They built for the Winnisimmet Ferry Company, Old Colony Steamship Company and the Fall River Line.

The sidewheel passenger steamer Old Colony was the last vessel that was built by the firm before going out of business in 1904.^[2]

Jabez K. Montgomery

Montgomery was one of the best known shipbuilders of New England. He was a director of the First Ward National bank of East Boston and the Globe Gas Light company. He was a member of the common council city government from 1879-1880 and an Alderman in 1881 for six successive years. He lived in Chelsea for over thirty years.^[1]

Montgomery died on March 7, 1907, in Chelsea, Massachusetts.^[3]

Atwood L. Howard

Howard learned shipbuilding from his father who was a well-known shipbuilder and mechanic. He moved to Chelsea to develop the Montgomery & Howard firm with his friend Jabez K. Montgomery. He lived in Chelsea for over thirty years.^[1]

Howard was a member of the Review club and was an established equestrian. He was one of the founders of the Hauthorne Club Stables.^[1]

Howard died on December 22, 1902, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Funeral services were conducted at his home by Rev R. Perry Bush, pastor of the First Universalist Church of Chelsea. Many shipbuilders and residents of Boston attended the services. He was buried at his birthplace in Warren, Maine.^[4]

List of ships

List of Montgomery & Howard ships.^[5]

Name	Image	Owner	Type	Built	Description
City of Malden		Winnisimmet Ferry Company	Ferryboat	March 18, 1882[6]	The City of Malden was withdrawn from the Chelsea route when the Winnisimmetline discontinued service in 1917 and were converted to a harbor  lighter.[7]
City of Fall River		Old Colony Steamboat Company	Freight boat	July 29, 1882[8]	The paddle steamboat City of Fall River under way.
Hesper		George W. Lawler, Augustus Hooper, and James L. Smith	pilot boat	1884	She was launched on October 4, 1884, from the Howard & Montgomery shipyard in Chelsea.[9] On May 13, 1901, the Hesper, was sold to Andrew C. Wheelwright, a retired merchant of Rowes Wharf, in Boston, Massachusetts.[10]
City of Brockton		Old Colony Steamboat Company	Side-wheel Passenger steamboat	1886	Built for the Fall River Line. She was scrapped in 1929.[11]
Mount Hope		Fall River & Providence Steamboat Company	Passenger steamboat	May 24, 1888[12]	Scrapped in 1936.
Varuna		Captain Thomas Cooper	pilot boat	8 May 1890	Varuna was built in 1890 by Howard & Montgomery at Chelsea.[13] She went out of commission in 1912 because of the introduction of steam power. She was sold to Stephen Simmons as a trading vessel between ports in the Spanish Main.[14]
Mayflower		Nantasket Steamboat Company	Passenger steamboat	December 25, 1890[15]	Beached at Nantasket in 1948.
City of Taunton		Old Colony Steamboat Company	Side-Wheel Passenger steamer	May 28, 1892[16]	Scrapped in 1929.
Myles Standish		Nantasket Steamboat Company	Passenger steamboat	June 7, 1895[17]	Scrapped in 1936.
Hingham		Nantasket Beach Steamboat Company	Passenger steamer	April 8, 1896[18]	Later Orient 1901, Bay Queen 1922, burnt in 1929.
Fairhaven		N Y, N H & H Railroad Company	Ferryboat	February 5, 1896[19]	Abandoned in 1934.
Nantasket		Nantasket Steamboat Company	Passenger steamboat	May 5, 1902[20]	Burnt Nantasket Beach Pier 1929
Old Colony		Nantasket Steamboat Company	Sidewheel passenger steamer	1903[2]	Burnt Nantasket Beach Pier 1929

See also

• List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats

External sites

• Montgomery & Howard, Chelsea, Massachusetts

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Montgomery & Howard.

This page was last edited on 4 February 2024, at 01:35