Peck & Masters – Shipbuilders of Cleveland, Ohio

Peck & Masters was a prominent shipbuilding firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, during the mid-19th century. This era marked a rapid expansion of Great Lakes commerce, and Cleveland became a key hub for ship construction, benefiting from its strategic location on Lake Erie and access to essential shipbuilding materials like timber, iron, and skilled labor.

Shipbuilding Expertise

Peck & Masters specialized in commercial sailing vessels, particularly:

• Schooners – the workhorses of Great Lakes shipping, used for transporting bulk goods like lumber, grain, coal, and iron ore.
• Barkentines – three-masted vessels combining square and fore-and-aft sails, offering a balance of speed and maneuverability.
• Propeller-driven vessels – as steam power advanced, Peck & Masters adapted, contributing to the construction of early steam-powered propeller-driven vessels.

Notable Ships Built by Peck & Masters

• Arctic was a wooden propeller-driven steambarge, designed for bulk freight transportation on the Great Lakes. Built in 1864 by Peck & Masters of Cleveland, Ohio, the ARCTIC was part of the growing fleet of steam-powered vessels that revolutionized shipping on the lakes during the late 19th century. Measuring nearly 200 feet in length, the steambarge was primarily employed in the transport of bulk commodities such as coal, reflecting the industrial growth of the region during this period.
• John V. Ayer was a 3-masted wooden bark, built in 1856 by Peck & Martin in Cleveland, Ohio. Designed for the European trade, the vessel was constructed with substantial passenger accommodations in addition to her cargo-carrying capacity, reflecting her dual role as both a freight and passenger vessel. At 136 feet in length and 353 tons, the John V. Ayer was a sizable vessel for her time, built to handle the rigors of transatlantic voyages as well as Great Lakes shipping.
• Ralph Campbell was a hardworking schooner engaged in the transport of lumber across the Great Lakes, primarily to Chicago. Over its 54-year career, it was responsible for transporting enough lumber to build what was described as a “small-sized city.”
• De Soto, launched in 1856. Built under the direct supervision of Captain B.A. Stannard, the De Soto was specifically designed for the grain trade, which was booming in the Great Lakes region. The ship’s construction quality earned it an A1 classification, signifying top-tier workmanship and durability, which reflected Peck & Masters’ reputation as skilled and reliable shipbuilders. Their work contributed significantly to the Great Lakes’ shipping industry, supporting the transport of grain, lumber, and other critical goods throughout the region.
• R.J. Hackett was a steam-powered bulk freighter, a pioneering vessel in Great Lakes shipping history. It is widely credited as the first purpose-built fore-and-aft cabin bulk freighter, a design that set the standard for Great Lakes steam barges.
• Nebraska was a wooden-hulled package freighter, originally launched in 1867. At 267.4 feet (81.5 m) in length, with a beam of 35.5 feet (10.8 m) and a depth of 14.2 feet (4.3 m), she had a gross tonnage of 1,483.53 tons and net tonnage of 1,362.13 tons. The vessel was one of the largest propeller-driven ships on the Great Lakes when it was built.
• J. S. Newhouse was a wooden schooner, later converted into a barge. It was primarily used for transporting lumber and other bulk cargo on the Great Lakes.
• David Todd, a 2-masted schooner, was built in 1855 by Peck & Masters in Cleveland. On October 30, 1868, while up-bound in the Detroit River, the vessel ran aground at the foot of Bois Blanc Island. The grounding was attributed to a navigational error. At the time of the incident, a local newspaper had predicted that the ship was in danger of becoming a total loss if not salvaged quickly. The schooner was reported as a total loss by the end of the year.
• Rocket was a wooden-hulled, screw-propelled steamer, built for freight and passenger service on the Great Lakes. It was part of a series of nearly identical vessels, including the COMET (1857), making it a duplicate design of its sister ships. The wooden arches in its structure reinforced the hull, making it more durable for heavy cargo and passenger transport.
• Toledo was a wooden propeller vessel built in 1862 by the Peck & Masters shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally designed as a package freighter, it measured 181 feet in length, 32 feet in beam, and had a depth of 11 feet, with a gross tonnage of 579 tons and a net tonnage of 389 tons. After a long career and multiple accidents, the vessel was condemned for poor condition in 1890 and was rebuilt as a bulk freighter in Detroit in 1890-91.
• Winslow was originally built as a passenger vessel in 1863 but was later converted into a package freighter, a common transition for steam-powered vessels of that era. Propeller-driven freighters were widely used on the Great Lakes to transport goods efficiently between ports, handling diverse cargo as foodstuffs, manufactured goods, and raw materials.
• Unadilla was originally built as a three-masted wooden schooner but was later converted into a schooner-barge, meaning it was towed by a steam-powered vessel rather than sailing independently. These converted barges were commonly used to carry bulk cargo as lumber, coal, or stone.

Legacy of Peck & Masters

Peck & Masters played a vital role in advancing ship design for the Great Lakes, crafting durable wooden sailing ships and early steam-driven vessels. As industrialization progressed in the late 19th century, Great Lakes shipbuilding transitioned to steel-hulled freighters, but firms like Peck & Masters laid the groundwork for modern Great Lakes shipping.