North Carolina has long sustained strong maritime industries of major consequence, including ship and boat building.
A new book from the North Carolina Office of Archives and History examines that maritime and shipbuilding heritage.
“Shipbuilding in North Carolina, 1688–1918,” by William N. Still, Jr. and Richard A. Stephenson, documents a comprehensive and authoritative history of maritime industries that dotted the Tar Heel coast.
Their book examines the history of boat and shipbuilding in North Carolina through the early twentieth century, a span of 230 years. Still and Stephenson document for the first time a bygone era when maritime industries thrived along the coast.
Coastal North Carolinians have a proven maritime expertise. The work of shipbuilding craftsmen and entrepreneurs contributed to the colony’s and the state’s economy from the era of exploration through the age of naval stores to World War I. The book includes an inventory of 3,300 ships and 270 shipwrights.
The book is available for purchase from UNC Press at
https://uncpress.org/book/9780865264946/shipbuilding-in-north-carolina-1688-1918/fbclid=IwAR1qGCDuWAvNKFu7zutyUStFDFt9gZH7JcXwQ5l866IH1upd37OzS4LiEZE
About the Authors
William Still Jr. is professor emeritus in the Thomas Hariot College of Arts and Sciences at ECU. He was associated with the Maritime History and Underwater Archaeology Program at ECU from its inception until his retirement and is author of “Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads” (1985) and “Crisis at Sea: The United States Navy in European Waters in World War I” (2006).
Richard Stephenson is professor emeritus in the Thomas Hariot College of Arts and Sciences at ECU. He was associated with the Maritime History and Underwater Archaeology Program at ECU from its inception until his retirement and is author of numerous archaeology and maritime history monographs and articles in professional journals.