Currier and I've-Been-Working-in-the-Shipyard
One of the most charming pieces of folk art in the museum's collection is this wooden ship model that for many years graced one of the buildings at the shipyard of
John Currier, Jr.
At one time, it was thought to be a weathervane, although its delicate rigged construction belies that fact.
John Currier, Jr. is regarded as one of Newburyport’s most prominent shipbuilders. He was born in 1802, one of ten children of John (1771-1837) and Hannah Coffin Currier (1773-1841).
In 1831, John junior began building ships at Moggridge's Point, and two years later he established a shipyard at the foot of Butler Street and east of Merrimack Court. It became a thriving business, building nearly 100 ships over the course of its fifty-one-year existence.
Currier's shipyard was part of the Merrimack Shipbuilding District which produced just over 300 ships during the golden era of sail. The John Currier shipyard was part of Newbury and was annexed to the new city of Newburyport in 1851. In 1857, John's son, John James Currier (1834-1912), entered the prosperous firm as a partner.
By the 1880s, the call for merchant ships had decreased. The Curriers launched their last vessel, the square-rigged ship
Mary L. Cushing
, in 1883. She was the last merchant ship built in Massachusetts.
John Currier, Jr. died four years later in 1887. His ships had voyaged to all parts of the globe including Australia, the Far East, India, Europe, North America and South America.
IMAGES:
Wooden ship model from the J. Currier, Jr. Shipyard. Gift of Priscilla Coffin and Susan Coffin True.
Oil on canvas portrait of John Currier, Jr. (1802-1887). Gift of Priscilla Coffin and Susan Coffin True.
The vignette of the J. Currier, Jr. Shipyard (shown below) is from the 1851 plan of the new city of Newburyport. It was considered to be in the Belleville section of town.
