Joe Weaver established Joseph Weaver and Son Shipyard in Orange in 1897. George Levingston, later founder of Levingston Shipbuilding Company, acquired an interest in Weaver and Son in 1898, and the company built barges for the Galveston Navigation District. Levingston later sold his interest in the company to Joe Weaver's son, L.E. "Ed" Weaver. Joseph Weaver and Son built barges, steam tugboats, and performed repair work. Although World War I brought a slight increase in production to Weaver and Son and the entire Orange shipbuilding industry, production slowed again after the war. The death of Joseph Weaver in 1930 signaled the beginning of a new partnership between L.E. Weaver and his son, L.A. Weaver. Upon L.E. Weaver's death in 1941, the company's name was changed to Weaver Shipyards when other family members joined the partnership.
World War II again increased production at the Weaver yard, when contracts to construct wooden mine sweepers and sub chasers were awarded in 1941 and 1942. The wooden vessels did not attract the magnetic mines used by the Germans, and were designed to patrol the waters adjacent to their home bases. The first minesweeper, YMS 66, was launched on January 31, 1942.
After the frenzied activity of World War II, Weaver Shipyards continued to build small vessels including wood and steel shrimp
boats and also carried on with its ship repair work. The Weaver family sold the company in 1975, but regained control in the late 1980s. The Weaver Shipyards site continues to be owned by the Weaver family and remains involved in maritime work through lease agreements.
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