Hans Ditlev Bendixsen facts for kids
Hans Ditlev Bendixsen (born October 14, 1842 – died February 12, 1902) was a Danish-American shipbuilder. He helped build up the shipping industry on the West Coast of the United States. For over 30 years, he built many ships called 'lumber schooners'. These ships were made near Eureka, California, on Humboldt Bay. They were very important for carrying lumber along the west coast.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Hans Ditlev Bendixsen was born in Thisted, Denmark. His father, Frederik Carl Bendixsen, was a tobacco merchant. His mother was Mariane von Mehren Bendixsen. Both came from well-known Danish families.
When he was young, Bendixsen trained to be a shipbuilder in Aalborg for two years. After finishing his training, he worked in different shipyards in Copenhagen. Later, he became a ship carpenter and worked on ships at sea.
Building a Shipbuilding Career
Bendixsen traveled all the way to California by sailing around Cape Horn. He found a job at Turner's shipyard in San Francisco. In 1867, he moved to Eureka, California. He worked for E. Cousins' shipyard before starting his own shipbuilding business.
Bendixsen later moved his shipyard to nearby Fairhaven, California. His shipyard was very large, covering fourteen acres. It had shops, sawmills, and places to build and store timber. There were even small houses and gardens for his 150 workers.
Sometimes, Bendixsen owned parts of the ships he built. These ships sailed along the coast carrying lumber. They also traded with islands known for sugar. In 1877, the lumber business faced tough times. Bendixsen had to sell his shipyard to pay his workers and others he owed money to. But he rented the shipyard back and kept building ships. Seven years later, he was able to buy his shipyard back again.
His Amazing Ships
Between 1875 and 1901, Bendixsen built 50 large ships at his Fairhaven yard. These included three-mast and four-mast schooners and barkentines. During his lifetime, he built about 115 different kinds of vessels. This included two-mast schooners, brigantines, and even steamboats.
Bendixsen is most famous for the three, four, and five-mast schooners he built. These ships were specially designed for carrying lumber along the west coast. In 1901, he sold his shipbuilding business for almost a quarter-million dollars. That was a lot of money back then!
His Lasting Legacy
Some of Bendixsen's lumber schooners have survived even into the 21st century. The Wawona, built in 1897, was once docked in Seattle. However, the Wawona was taken apart in 2009.
Another ship built by Hans Bendixsen that is still around is the C.A. Thayer. It was built in 1895 and is now located at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The C.A. Thayer has been fixed up and sailed back to the Hyde Street Pier in 2007.
