Shipbuilding began here in 1846 with the launching of A.D. Patchin and Alvin Clark. Early builders were John Keating, Evaline Bates, Burton Goodsill, James Abbott, and Hiram Baker. Trenton became a ship center when Arthur Edwards established the D. & C. Steamboat Co. and Alvin Turner arrived from Ohio City. During this period, the finest and largest schooners and steamboats were sent forth to sail the Great Lakes. Railroads and iron-hulled ship technology brought about the demise of the Turner Shipyard. The site later operated for a time as the River Bark Stave Co. and then by the D.H. Burell Co. The original buildings burned in the early 1900's. Boat building resumed in 1919 when the Purdy Boat Co. located here. The tradition continued through the Davis Boat Co. and finally the Liggett Boat Works. These buildings were demolished in 1968, closing a rich and forgotten chapter in Trenton history.