Paul Curtis (shipbuilder)
Paul Curtis (December 26, 1800 – January 10, 1873) was an American shipbuilder who built ships in Medford, Massachusetts (up the Mystic River from Boston). Background Shipbuilding was one of the two big businesses at Medford in the mid-19th century. Thatcher Magoun's shipyard, where Curtis did his apprenticeship, was the oldest (established 1802) and largest of the 10 yards, and remained so even after Thatcher's retirement in 1836. In 1845 one-quarter of all shipwrights in Massachusetts were employed in the Medford shipyards. The yards clustered along 1 mile of the Mystic River riverfront, and Curtis's yard was between South, Winthrop and Curtis Streets. He launched his ships directly across the South Street roadway. The yards drew upon the ready supply of local timber until the local woods were depleted. Ships were then built from timber cut down and floated south from the hardwood forests of New Hampshire. Each ship was built from fifteen or more species of wood carefully pieced together where the special properties of each would do the most good. Curtis was the youngest child of Elijah and Rachel (Clapp) Curtis. He was born on December 26, 1800, in Scituate, Massachusetts. In 1819, at the age of 18,