James Rees & Sons, Pittsburgh PA
James Rees, a Welshman, established this shipyard, which was originally a machine shop and engine works called Rees & Thorn. In 1878, they began building ships. It is claimed that they built not only the first steel-hulled boat in America - the "Francisco Montoya", in 1878 - but also the first boat with electric light throughout - the "Kate Adams", in 1882. It is also notable for building many knockdown (KD) boats for service in South America. The yard closed in 1930. It was located at Duquesne Way (now Fort Duquesne Boulevard) and Fancourt Street (later Fourth Street and roughly where Stanwix Street is now). See the site from the air on Google here. If anyone can add to the table below, which is clearly far from complete, please email info@navalmarinearchive.com.
Most recent update: 16 May 2016.
| Hull # | O.N. | Original Name | Original Owner | Vessel Type | Tons | Feet | Built | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| na | E. A. Woodruff | Corps of Engineers | Snag Boat | 1876 | ||||
| Helena | Fort Benton Tptn. Co. | Steamship | 1878 | Sank 1891 | ||||
| Francisco Montoya | Magdalena Steam Nav. | Steamship | 1878 | For South America | ||||
| Buckeye State | Pittsburgh & Cincinnati | Steamship | 1878 | |||||
| ? | 76049 | J. B. O'Brien | Towboat | 61 | 1878 | Later S. S. Prentiss | ||
| Victoria | Steamship | 1880 | For South America | |||||
| Venezuela | Zulia River Navigation | Steamship | 1880 | For South America | ||||
| Benner | U.S. Government | Medical Boat | 1880 | |||||
| Saratoga Lake | Steam Catamaran | 1880 | ||||||
| U.S. Government | Launch | 1880 | ||||||
| U.S. Government | Tug | 1881 | ||||||
| U.S. Government | Tug | 1881 | ||||||
| U.S. Government | Tug | 1881 | ||||||
| 3188 | Boaz | Tug | 623 | 1882 | ||||
| Rober Carliator | Steamship | 1882 | For South America | |||||
| De Castro | Steamship | 1882 | For South America | |||||
| Chattahoochee | Chattahoochee River Trade | Steam Packet | 436 | 1882 | ||||
| Will S. Hays | W. H. Brown's Sons | Steamship | 1882 | |||||
| Kate Adams | Memph. & Ark. Packet | Steam Packet | 1882 | Burnt 1888 | ||||
| Chickasaw | Memph. & White R. Packet | Steamship | 1883 | |||||
| Tenafly | 134 | 1885 | ||||||
| 161543 | Voyager | Towboat | 99 | 1885 | ||||
| Mary Disston | Anclote River, Florida | Steamship | 1885 | |||||
| Mexico | Tres Hermanos | Thebaud Brothers | Steamship | 1885 | ||||
| na | Charles R. Suter | Corps of Engineers | Snag Boat | 1886 | ||||
| Eugene | Arkansas River Packet Co. | Steamship | 1887 | |||||
| Ethel | Tippecanoe Lake, Indiana | Steamship | 1887 | |||||
| Baltimore | A. Booth & Sons | Towboat | 1887 | |||||
| na | Missouri | Corps of Engineers | Snag Boat | 510 | 1888 | |||
| Storm | Conneaut Lake, PA | Steamship | 1889 | |||||
| Bailey Gatzert | Seattle-Tacoma | Steamship | 1890 | |||||
| Georgia Oaks | Lake Coeur de Lion, ID | Steamship | 1891 | |||||
| Lize | Kranewski and Peasant | Steamship | 35 | 1893 | ||||
| 92348 | M. D. Wayman | Towboat | 242 | 1891 | ||||
| 92509 | M. Dougherty | Towboat | 43 | 1893 | ||||
| 96228 | Harry No. 2 | Towboat | 48 | 1893 | ||||
| 145653 | Troubadour | Yacht | 15 | 1893 | ||||
| 157405 | Dowling & Sons | Towboat | 45 | 1894 | Later E. F. Jackson | |||
| J. N. Harbin | Arkansas River Packet Co. | Steamship | 1895 | |||||
| na | Beta | Corps of Engineers | Dredge | 600 | 1896 | |||
| 77307 | J. K. Davison | Dredge | 259 | 1898 | ||||
| Will H. Isom | N. American Tptn. | Steamship | 1901 | |||||
| Vesta | Vesta Coal | Sternwheel Towboat | 142 | 1902 | ||||
| na | Swan | Corps of Engineers | Snag Boat | 264 | 1902 | |||
| Mexico | Hidalgo | Thebaud Brothers | Steamship | 1904 | ||||
| Nicaragua | Jas. Deitrick | U.S. & Nicaragua Co. | Steamship | 1904 | ||||
| 202543 | Henry A. Laughlin | Jones & Laughlin Steel | Sternwheel Towboat | 151 | 1905 | |||
| na | T. P. Roberts | Corps of Engineers | Towboat | 206 | 1906 | |||
| 202126 | Scimitar II | Steamboat | 256 | 1906 | To CoE 1921 | |||
| S. S. Brown | Memphis and Vicksburg | Steamship | 643 | 1906 | ||||
| 205738 | B. F. Jones, Jr. | Jones & Laughlin Steel | Sternwheel Towboat | 91 | 1908 | |||
| 220723 | Chatham | Freighter | 27 | 1908 | ||||
| Oregon | Foreign Christian Miss. Soc. | Mission Steamer | 1909 | |||||
| Brazil | Olivia | Brazilian Owners | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1912 | |||
| Brazil | Itacoatiara | Brazilian Owners | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1913 | |||
| Brazil | Campinas | Brazilian Owners | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1913 | |||
| Brazil | Aracaju | Brazilian Owners | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1913 | |||
| Brazil | Gaiola | Julio Guimaraes | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1913 | Now Benjamin Guimaraes, still active | ||
| 212813 | Idlewild | West Memphis Packet Co. | Steam Packet | 260 | 1914 | Now Belle of Louisville, museum in Louisville KY | ||
| 212008 | G. W. Cobbett | Sternwheel Towboat | 191 | 1915 | Scrapped 1952 | |||
| 212522 | Aliquippa | Jones & Laughlin Steel | Sternwheel Towboat | 191 | 1915 | Scrapped 1952 | ||
| na | Nolin River | Corps of Engineers | Dipper Dredge | 210 | 1915 | |||
| 214180 | A. Gallagher | Ferry | 10 | 1916 | ||||
| Brazil | Parahyba | KD Riverboat | 160 | 1916 | ||||
| 215523 | Early Bird | Towboat | 10 | 1917 | ||||
| 217232 | W. H. Clingerman | Carnegie Steel | Sternwheel Towboat | 234 | 1918 | Now W. P. Snyder. Jr., museum in Marietta OH | ||
| 218194 | Victory | Sternwheel Towboat | 240 | 1919 | ||||
| 218203 | Waren Elsey | Sternwheel Towboat | 240 | 1919 | ||||
| 218584 | C. S. 1 | Towboat | 17 | 1919 | ||||
| 218994 | Homestead | Carnegie Steel | Sternwheel Towboat | 234 | 1919 | |||
| na | Evelyn | Corps of Engineers | Towboat | 30 | 1920 | |||
| na | Monallo | Corps of Engineers | Derrick Boat | 470 | 1921 | |||
| 221138 | Relief | Towboat | 30 | 1921 | ||||
| 221494 | C. S. 2 | Towboat | 40 | 1921 | ||||
| na | Capt. Chas. D. Harris | Corps of Engineers | Sternwheel Towboat | 335 | 1921 | |||
| Colombia | Ayacucho | Soc. Colombiana de Tptes | Steamboat | Burnt and sank 1961 |