Marker Details

Confederate Naval Works at Goose Creek


Bayland Park, 2641 SH 146 Business

Baytown , 77520

Notes:
Not in HCHC database, added per THC Locations list # 89816 sent by Will Howard, entry on 1-6-2008
Directions: marker to the left of the "Bayland Orphanage" marker in Bayland Park, McBride Boat Ramp, 1/2 mile from bridge on Business 146, turn right at Waterfront District Public Boat Ramp entrance from 146 & then left to boat ramp

Key Time Period: 1846 - 1865 Statehood - Civil War

Corretions/New Research:

Marker Text: In 1854, brothers Thomas and John Chubb bought land in the William Scott League on the east bank of Goose Creek at the mouth of Tabbs Bay. On this site, they established the Chubb Shipyard prior to the Civil War. At the time, Texas shipbuilding was a developing industry. During the war, however, in an effort to compensate for the Union's industrial advantage, the Confederate government encouraged Texans to engage in manufacturing ventures that would aid its military effort.



The Chubb brothers responded to this call with the Confederate Naval Works at Goose Creek, which built and repaired vessels during the war. Thomas Chubb also served in the Texas Marine Department, an element of the Confederate States Army operating independently of the Confederate Navy. He obtained the rank of Captain and later became superintendent of the Confederate Naval Works.



The design and structure of ships built at the Goose Creek shipyard were integral to the Department's effectiveness in running the Union blockade. The shallow draft of the centerboard schooners made them suitable for blockade running in shallow areas of the Gulf of Mexico, where deep draft vessels could not pass. These successful ships included the Royal Yacht, Bagdad, Phoebe, Henrietta, Marguereta and Altha Brooks. An important contributor to the Texas naval and industrial effort during the Civil War, the Goose Creek shipyard later built ships for the federal government and private mariners until Thomas Chubb left the business in 1869. The following year, the Thomas B. Gaillard family purchased the former shipyard and established Gaillard's Landing. Later, the site became part of the Goose Creek oil fields. (2007)



Marker is property of the State of Texas
Marker Type: Marker with Post
Historical Org: Texas Historical Commission (THC)

Key Map Information: 541 E

GPS Coordinates: 29 42.788, 94 59.613

Precinct No: 2

Marker No: 13964