Donald McKay Monument

Donald McKay, 1810-1880, was a master-builder whose genius produced ships of beauty and speed before unknown, swept the seven seas, made the American clipper ship famous the world over, and brought renown and prosperity to the city of Boston. His Great Republic was the largest ship in the world when launched on Oct. 4th 1853, at 4555 tons register and 6000 tons capacity, with a length of 325 feet, a beam of 53 feet, a depth of hold of 39 feet, and construction using a million and one half feet of hard pine, 2056 tons of white oak, 336 tons of iron, 56 tons copper, and 15,653 sq. yds. of canvas. Among the clippers associated with him were Stag Hound, Santa Claus, Flying Cloud, James Baines, Staffordshire, Defender, North America, Mastiff, Flying Fish, Donald McKay, Sovereign of the Seas, Westward Ho, Alhambra, Bald Eagle, Helen Morris, Empress of the Seas, Star of Empire, Minnehaha, Chariot of Fame, Japan, Great Republic, Zephyr, Romance of the Seas, Blanche Moore, Lightning, Commodore Perry, Amos Lawrence, Adriatic, Abbot Lawrence, Baltic, and Glory of the Seas. His packets included Anglo Saxon, Jenny Lind, New World, Parliament, Washington Irving, Plymouth Rock, Antarctic, A.Z., Anglo American, Ocean Monarch, L.Z., Cornelius Grinnell, and Daniel Webster. His traders included Courier, Moses Wheeler, Helicon, Frank Atwood, General Putnam, Benin, Reindeer, Mary B. Dyer, H. and R. Atwood, Sultana, Benj. S. Wright, North Star, Geo. B. Upton, R.R. Higgins, Theodore D. Wagner, and Sovereign of the Seas II.

Boston, Massachusetts · United States