Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park

During the early 1800s, shipyards dotted Baltimore's Harbor. Many of them drew vessels in need of repair from waters up and down the Atlantic coast. Repairs ranged from minor sail mendings to complicated restorative hull work rendered by skilled shipwrights and carpenters. Marine railways pulled and lifted boats out of the water so that they could be repaired. Vessels were floated into a carriage or cradle and then pulled up the rails out of the water by horses, mules, or oxen. Shipyard workers often lent their hands and body strength as they guided heavy watercraft from the harbor.

The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company had so much business that it needed two marine railways. Workers kept the railways occupied six days a week, 52 weeks a year.

The marine railway here was built following the same principles as historic railways. In this modern rendition, motors have replaced horses, mules and oxen. Like the marine railways of old, this mechanical device can lift boars and ships weighing up to 100 tons.

(Inscription under the image on the bottom right) The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company. This image of the first African American owned and operated shipyard in the United States shows both of the company's marine railways. (Maryland Historical Society collections)

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Show me all markers in:  Baltimore, MD  |  21231  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

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