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West Street Foundry

The West Street Foundry
Company type	Private
Industry	Engineering
Founded	ca. 1839
Founders	Joseph E. Coffee Maelzaer Howell
Defunct	1855
Fate	Bankrupted
Headquarters	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Area served	Eastern United States
Key people	Joseph E. Coffee Wilson Small
Products	Marine and stationary steam engines; boilers and general metalwork
Number of employees	200 (1851)

The West Street Foundry was an American steam engineering works notable for producing marine steam engines in the mid-19th century. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company built at least 27 marine engines between 1845 and 1855, including engines for some of the fastest and finest steamboats of the era. The company also built and repaired steam engines and boilers of all types, as well as doing other metalwork. The company failed and was liquidated in 1855.

History

The earliest known records of the West Street Foundry, also known at this time as Howell & Coffee, date to 1839. Principals of the firm were Joseph E. Coffee, then a 28-year-old engineer, and Maelzaer Howell. With Howell's death in 1842, Coffee became sole proprietor, and would continue his association with the firm throughout its history. Coffee's younger brother, George Wayne Coffee, was also an engineer and an associate of the firm. The business was located on the northwest corner of West and Beach Streets, Brooklyn, New York.

In addition to marine engines, the company built stationary steam engines, and built and repaired both marine and stationary boilers as well as doing a variety of other metalwork. The company also bought and sold steamboats on commission, and sometimes offered steamboats in its possession for excursions or charter. The foundry's services were advertised as far afield as Alabama.

By 1850, the company had been acquired by Wilson Small, a prominent figure in the New York branch of the Democratic Party, with Coffee remaining as superintendent and agent. The company had 140 employees in 1850; by 1851 this number had risen to 200.

The foundry is known to have built the engines for at least 27 steam vessels, though more are likely unaccounted for. Among the more notable vessels powered by West Street Foundry engines were Santa Claus and Mountaineer—two Hudson River passenger steamboats noted for their speed—and State of Maine and Daniel Webster, both considered on debut to be the finest and fastest steamboats in Maine coastal service.

Wilson Small was forced to make an assignment of the business in 1855. He subsequently joined the civil service, while Coffee established a new steam engineering works in Keyport, New Jersey.

About the proprietors

Joseph Ellis Coffee was born in Philadelphia on December 27, 1811. After training as an engineer and serving as a principal of the West Street Foundry until its closure, he established a new business offering similar services in Keyport, New Jersey, near the steamboat landing. The location was close to the shipyard of Benjamin C. Terry, with whom Coffee and Small had a longstanding business relationship; Coffee sometimes supervised the construction of steamers at Terry's yard, and Small was the original owner of at least seven vessels built there. In later years, Coffee served as Chief of Bureau of Steam with New York's Metropolitan Police.

Coffee was a director and later vice-president of the Mechanics' Institute of New York, and a director of the Brooklyn Fire Insurance Company. He died December 5, 1869, at the age of 58, and is buried at Green Grove Cemetery, Keyport.

Wilson Small was born in New York City on February 13, 1810. Entering the workforce at the age of twelve, he trained as a jeweller, continuing in the trade until the panic of 1837. A growing engagement with politics led him to stand for political office, and he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1846 and 1847. Later, he served as president of New York City's Tenth Ward. Following the failure of the West Street Foundry, Small joined the civil service, and subsequently obtained a variety of government positions. He was a Sachem and later, the longterm Sagamore of Tammany Hall, and a Grand Master of the Odd Fellows. He died October 21, 1886.

Production table

The following table lists marine steam engines known to have been built by the West Street Foundry; the list is likely incomplete.

Footnotes

1. See table.
2. For example, Small was the original owner of seven steamboats built in Keyport, New Jersey, by Benjamin C. Terry, and Joseph E. Coffee's brother, George Wayne Coffee, also ordered a steamer, named Joseph E. Coffee, from Terry; the engine builder for none of these steamers is known.
3. ^ Ringwald cites a contemporaneous newspaper report favorably mentioning Santa Claus' speed; according to another such report, Santa Claus and Niagara were the two fastest boats on the New York to Albany route in 1845. The fact that Santa Claus operated for some years on this highly competitive route is further evidence of her speed.
4. While the reasons for the failure are not known, it coincided with a prolonged shipbuilding slump.
5. Coffee's son, Joseph E. Coffee Jr., was also a police engineer.
6. Not to be confused with the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York, later known as the Mechanics' Institute.
7. Ridgely gives erroneous dates for Small's election wins.
8. Name=name of ship. Where a ship had more than one name in the course of its career, the later names are presented in chronological order, with each name followed by a two-digit number (in superscript) representing the last two digits of the year in which the rename took place (where known).
9. Type of ship. The generic term "steamer" is used when it is not known whether the vessel was a steamship or steamboat.
10. Year of ship launch where known; otherwise year of completion.
11. The shipbuilder. Where the shipbuilder is not known, the place where the ship was built, where known, is substituted (in parentheses).
12. Gross register tonnage. Source for most tonnages is the Lytle-Holdcamper List, which provides the original official tonnages. These may differ to some degree from those cited in contemporaneous newspaper reports, as the latter were often estimates made before the official measurement.
13. Original owner and/or operator of the ship or their agent. Contemporaneous newspaper sources rarely state to which category a named party belongs, though other sources may provide clarification. Abbreviations: FC = Ferry Company; SBC = Steamboat Company; SNC = Steam Navigation Company; S&TC = Steamboat & Transportation Company.
14. Engine type abbreviations: Ch = crosshead; VB = vertical beam; Inc = inclined.
15. ^ Five ferryboats—Oneota, Onalaska, Niagara, Oneida and Seneca—were built for the Williamsburg Ferry Company in 1849, three of which had engines built by the West Street Foundry and two with engines by George Birbeck Jr. The two ferries with Birbeck engines were Onalaska and Seneca; therefore the three ferries with West Street Foundry engines were Niagara, Oneota and Oneida.
16. ^ The other part of the article can be found at the bottom of the same page, which is at a different url.
17. Crawford was a master builder at Benjamin C. Terry's shipyard, where the ferry was built.
18. Beers was a master builder at Benjamin C. Terry's shipyard, where the ferry was built.

References

1. "For Sale—A Steam Ferry Boat". Morning Herald. New York. August 15, 1839. p. 3.
2. Benedict, Erastus C. (1870). The American Admiralty: its Jurisdiction and Practice. New York: Banks and Brothers. p. 555.
3. Benjamin, Park, ed. (January 22, 1842). "Died". The New World. Vol. IV, no. 4. New York: J. Winchester. p. 66. hdl:2027/inu.32000000709552.
4. "Rep. No. 834". The Reports of Committees, 29th Congress, 1st Session (Report). Vol. 4. United States Congress. August 10, 1846. p. 23. hdl:2027/uc1.b3983450.
5. "Balance Water Cock". Scientific American. New York: Munn & Company. September 2, 1848. p. 396.
6. ^ "Steamer George W. Coffee". The Charleston Mercury. May 31, 1848. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Auction Notices" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. April 7, 1855. p. 3.
8. ^ "Advertisements". Scientific American. Vol. 4, no. 1. New York: Munn & Co. September 23, 1848. p. 7. hdl:2027/coo.31924080787603.
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10. "For Sale". The New York Herald. February 20, 1853. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "To Charter". The New York Times. July 4, 1853. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Traveling". New-York Daily Tribune. September 21, 1850. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Untitled". Mobile Daily Advertiser and Chronicle. October 25, 1842. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "The Foundries in New York" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. New York. September 14, 1850. p. 2.
15. ^ Ridgely 1878. pp. 416–422.
16. ^ Reussille 1975. p. 16.
17. ^ Reussille 1975. p. 6.
18. ^ Ringwald 1981. pp. 136–137.
19. ^ Morrison 1903. pp. 354–355.
20. ^ "Improvements in the Steam Engine". Daily Courier and Pilot. Buffalo, NY. July 13, 1846. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
21. ^ "The Steamboat Mountaineer—a Squall". The Evening Post. New York. July 13, 1846. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
22. ^ Morrison 1903. pp. 391–392.
23. ^ Heyl 1953. I. pp. 125–126.
24. Reussille 1975. pp. 1, 6, 26.
25. ^ Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police. New York: New York Police Dept. 1867. p. 58.
26. ^ "Marriages and Deaths". The New York Herald. December 8, 1869. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
27. ^ Williams, Edwin (1845). The New York Annual Register. New York: Jansen & Bell. p. 221.
28. "Mechanics' Institute". New York Tribune. December 25, 1841. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "West Point Excursion". New York Daily Tribune. July 31, 1844. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
30. "Brooklyn Fire Insurance Company". Brooklyn Evening Star. June 8, 1849. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
31. "Died". The New York Herald. December 7, 1869. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
32. Journal of the Assembly of the State of New York at their 69th Session. Albany, NY: New York State Assembly. 1846. p. 5.
33. Journal of the Assembly of the State of New York at their 70th Session. Vol. I. Albany, NY: New York State Assembly. 1846. p. 5.
34. ^ "Obituary: Wilson Small". The New York Times. October 22, 1886. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
35. "Side Wheel Steamboat Naushon". Mariners' Museum and Park. October 10, 2018. Accession number 1941.0876.000001A.
36. Heyl 1965. IV. pp. 211–213.
37. ^ Ringwald 1981. p. 49.
38. "Untitled". Poughkeepsie Journal and Eagle. September 6, 1845. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
39. ^ Ringwald 1981. p. 50.
40. Ringwald 1981. p. 89.
41. "SS Santa Claus Clock Shown in Mariners' Museum Library". Daily Press. Newport News, VA. December 21, 1947. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
42. Bartol 1851. p. 94.
43. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 150.
44. "Steam Boats". The Evening Post. New York. July 6, 1846. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
45. "Steam Boats". The Evening Post. New York. January 11, 1847. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
46. "Wreck of the Steamboat Mountaineer". The Evening Post. New York. June 27, 1850. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
47. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 283.
48. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 203.
49. Morrison 1903. p. 396.
50. "The Steamer 'State of Maine'". Bangor Daily Whig and Courier. July 7, 1848. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
51. Heyl 1956. II. pp. 243–244.
52. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 84.
53. "The Mount Pleasant Steamer". The Charleston Daily News. June 2, 1868. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
54. "No title". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 16, 1849. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
55. Bartol 1851. pp. 124–126.
56. ^ Cudahy 1990. p. 433.
57. ^ "West Street Foundry". The New York Herald. January 1, 1851. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
58. ^ Heyl 1953. I. p. 219.
59. "William H. Brown". American Railroad Journal. Vol. 6, no. 40. New York: J. H. Schultz & Co. October 5, 1850. p. 627. hdl:2027/mdp.39015013032118.
60. "Williamsburgh" (PDF). Semi-Weekly Courier and New York Enquirer. May 3, 1851. p. 2.
61. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 233.
62. "Another Fast Steamer". The Evening Post. New York. August 14, 1851. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
63. "Hoboken". The New York Herald. January 1, 1852. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
64. "Local Matters". The Sun. Baltimore, MD. August 10, 1867. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
65. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 307.
66. "The Steamer Wilson Small". The Sun. Baltimore, MD. August 29, 1867. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
67. "Auction Sales". The Sun. Baltimore, MD. September 5, 1867. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
68. "The Hoboken Yards". The New York Herald. April 7, 1852. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
69. "Ship Building in New York". The New York Herald. July 8, 1852. p. 6.
70. "Ships Built at the Port of New York in 1852". Hunt's Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review. Vol. 29. New York. December 1853. p. 753. hdl:2027/nyp.33433022395861.
71. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 86.
72. "Editorial Correspondence". The Daily Picayune. New Orleans. June 22, 1852. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
73. Lytle-Holdcamper 1975. p. 118.
74. ^ "New York Iron Foundries" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. May 1, 1852. p. 5.
75. "For Sale" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. December 4, 1858. p. 4.
76. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 217.
77. "Underwriter I (Side-wheel Gunboat)". Naval History and Heritage Command. United States Navy. April 20, 2018.
78. "New York Iron Foundries" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. May 1, 1852. p. 5.
79. "Hoboken Yards" (PDF). The New York Herald. December 29, 1853. p. 3.
80. "The shipyards in New-York, Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Hoboken". The New York Times. February 26, 1853. p. 6.
81. "New-York City". The New York Times. March 17, 1853.
82. ^ "New York Iron Foundries" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. April 5, 1853. p. 2.
83. "The Alice C. Price" (PDF). Morning Courier and New York Enquirer. July 20, 1853. p. 2.
84. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 6.
85. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 211.
86. Reussille 1975. pp. 20–22.
87. ^ Reussille1975. p. 11.
88. ^ Morrison 1903. pp. 163–165.
89. ^ Dayton 1925. pp. 78, 431.
90. "Wrecked by an Explosion". The New York Times. August 29, 1883. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
91. "The Riverdale Explosion". New York Tribune. August 31, 1883. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
92. "Green Point Yards" (PDF). The New York Herald. December 29, 1853. p. 3.
93. New York Marine Register. Board of Underwriters. 1858. pp. 358–359.
94. "The Steamer Daniel Webster". Bangor Daily Whig and Courier. March 10, 1853. p. 2.
95. Reussille 1975. pp. 1, 26.
96. ^ "Dear Transcript". Boston Evening Transcript. March 3, 1854. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
97. ^ "People's Ferry Co. of Boston v. Beers". Findlaw. Thomson Reuters. 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022. Crawford & Terry contracted to build for Wilson Small, of New York, three ferry-boats, at Keyport, New Jersey, for $12,000 each ... the defendants proved and put in evidence a written agreement for building the hulls of three vessels, between Wilson Small, who was building under a contract for the Ferry Company, and Crawford, by which the latter was to construct, build, and deliver at New York city, the hulls of the three vessels ... When the Jefferson was nearly finished, she was taken to New York and delivered to Small, to receive her engine.
98. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 226.
99. Haviland, Edward Kenneth (January 1958). "American Steam Navigation in China, 1845–1878: Part VII". The American Neptune. Vol. 18, no. 1. Salem, MA: The American Neptune Inc. p. 73. hdl:2027/mdp.39015036626037.
100. ^ Haviland, Edward Kenneth (July 1957). "American Steam Navigation in China 1845–1878: Part V". The American Neptune. Vol. 17, no. 1. Salem, MA: The American Neptune Inc. p. 230. hdl:2027/mdp.39015036625898.
101. ^ Reussille 1975. p. 26.
102. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 112.
103. Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 272.
104. Reussille 1975. pp. 26, 33–34.
105. Reussille 1975. pp. 1, 35.
106. ^ Lytle, Holdcamper 1975. p. 110.
107. ^ Reussille 1975. pp. 26, 35.

Bibliography

• Cudahy, Brian L. (1990). Over and Back: The History of Ferryboats in New York Harbor. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 0-82321-245-9.
• Dayton, Fred Erving (1925). Steamboat Days. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. OCLC 1458123
• Heyl, Erik (1953). Early American Steamers. Vol. I. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. OCLC 1626009
• Heyl, Erik (1956). Early American Steamers. Vol. II. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. OCLC 1626009
• Heyl, Erik (1965). Early American Steamers. Vol. IV. Buffalo, New York: Erik Heyl. OCLC 1626009
• Lytle, William M.; Holdcamper, Forrest H. (1975). Mitchell, C. Bradford (ed.). Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1790–1868 (The Lytle-Holdcamper List). Staten Island, New York: The Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc. OCLC 22040526
• Morrison, John Harrison (1903). History of American Steam Navigation. New York: W. F. Sametz & Co. OCLC 3041572
• Reussille, Leon (1975). Steam Vessels Built in Old Monmouth 1841–1894. Brick Township, NJ: J. I. Farley. OCLC 1023010482
• Ridgely, James L. (1878). History of American Odd Fellowship: The First Decade. Baltimore, MD: Grand Lodge of the United States Independent Order of Odd Fellows. OCLC 546361
• Ringwald, Donald C. (1981). Steamboats for Rondout: Passenger Service between New York and Rondout Creek, 1829 through 1863. Providence, RI: Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc. OCLC 831299722

• 1839 establishments in New York (state)
• 1855 disestablishments in New York (state)
• American companies established in 1839
• Defunct marine engineering companies of New York City
• Manufacturing companies based in New York City