Isaac Myers, Shipyard Builder

Isaac Myers (1835–1891) was born to free parents in Baltimore. At sixteen he was apprenticed to a ship caulker and became a skilled master caulker and supervisor.

Pushed out

In 1865, as the Civil War ended, white caulkers and ship carpenters in Baltimore went on strike demanding the dismissal of Black workers. Employers gave in, and well over a hundred Black caulkers and longshoremen lost their jobs.

Building a shipyard

Myers organised a response. Black workers and community members bought shares, and in 1866 they opened the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company in Fells Point. A marine railway hauls ships out of the water on a cradle running up inclined rails so their hulls can be repaired. The company won government and private contracts, employed hundreds of workers of both races, and paid off its debt within a few years.

Organising labour

Myers believed Black and white workers should organise together, but the National Labor Union excluded Black members in practice. In 1869 he helped found the Colored National Labor Union and served as its president. He later worked in business, politics and Republican Party organising, and founded civic and educational organisations in Baltimore.

Why he is in the Hall of Makers

Myers answered exclusion with ownership. His shipyard stood on the same waterfront where Frederick Douglass had caulked hulls; today the site is part of the Frederick Douglass–Isaac Myers Maritime Park.

Further reading

Bettye C. Thomas, "A Nineteenth Century Black Operated Shipyard, 1866–1884," Journal of Negro History (1974); Frederick Douglass–Isaac Myers Maritime Park, Baltimore.