SHIP PACKAGES, HOUSE
PACKAGES
Essex-built ships could be sold at their destinations along with the cargo resulting in a high
profit margin for the owners who were often Essex men. This also created a continuous
demand for more ships, feeding production. The Williams Complex provided most items
needed to build a ship from wood to ironwork resulting in the construction of 53 ships
between 1796 and 1839 as well as complete “Ship Packages” sold on the open market. The
shipyard developed into the most sophisticated and for a time the most lucrative operation
within the Williams complex between the years 1796 and 1840.
The shipyard was the natural outgrowth of the business generated by the Williams
sawmill. By the 1790s, the sawmill drove the economic engine behind the family success
turning out “House Packages” along with orders for lumber that were shipped as far
away as the Caribbean sugar plantations, as detailed in Samuel Williams’ account book.
These house packages included everything needed to construct a house including nails
and ironwork produced in the Williams ironworks. One house package, sold to a Captain
Noah Scoville in 1792 included 26,000 square feet of boards, planks and timbers needed to
construct a home.
Their sawmill also produced “Ship Packages” sold to individuals and groups of merchants
for the coastal and Caribbean trade.
The Williams Complex provided most items
needed to build a ship from wood to ironwork
resulting in the construction of 53 ships between
1796 and 1839 as well as complete “Ship
Packages” sold on the open market.
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