R. D. Rice

Date

2008

Authors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University Libraries

Abstract

Ship Name: R. D. Rice; Sailed: 1883-1901; Type: Wood 3-masted; Built by: Thomaston, Maine by Samuel jWatts; Dimensions: 252.1' x 43.7' x 28.7'; Tonnage: 2247 tons.

Description

The ship R. D. Rice had the distinction of being the last square rigger built at Thomaston. Newton Jordan was the R.D. Rice’s skipper initially, and in 1894 ownership changed from Samuel Watts to Flint & Company. In 1899, the Flints sold out to the California Shipping Company and John Rosenfeld, shipping merchant of San Francisco, who frequently contracted the vessel. Indeed, R. D. Rice was the first ship to begin shipping raw sugar from the Spreckels plantations in Hawaii around Cape Horn to New York. Claus Spreckels, caught with processing a bulk commodity like sugar in the high-wage arena of California, realized that it was cheaper just to ship it from Hawaii to New York, and then ship the refined product west by rail. The ship R. D. Rice in 1894 was the pioneer carrier in this effort to evade the high wages of California. In addition, sailing ships were cheap carriers. On a 1901 trip from Philadelphia to Japan with case oil (kerosene in tins), R. D. Rice became a total loss when the oil caught fire.

Keywords

Merchant Ships, Ships

Citation