Skoda (barquentine) facts for kids

Skoda was a special kind of sailing ship called a barquentine. It was built in a place called Kingsport, Nova Scotia, in 1893. This ship was very important because it was the last one built by a famous shipbuilder named Ebenezer Cox. It was also the last big ship ever made in Kingsport, marking the end of a long history of shipbuilding there.

The Story of Skoda

The Skoda was a large barquentine ship, weighing 658 tons. It was built in Kingsport, Nova Scotia, and designed by a very experienced shipbuilder named Ebenezer Cox. Building the Skoda was the last project in his thirty-year career of making ships. It was also the very last large ship built and launched in Kingsport. This meant the end of an important shipbuilding time for the town, which had built some of Canada's biggest sailing ships.

A man named C. Rufus Burgess from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, asked for the Skoda to be built. He was the biggest builder and owner of ships in that area. The ship was named after a medicine factory in Wolfville, which Mr. Burgess also owned. The Skoda was launched into the water on June 1, 1893. After its launch, it loaded wood at nearby Parrsboro for its very first trip to the west of England.

The Master Shipbuilder

Ebenezer Thomas Cox (born December 19, 1828, died September 8, 1916) was one of the best shipbuilders of his time. He worked for thirty years as a designer and master builder at the shipyard in Kingsport. During those years, he built thirty ships. On average, each of his ships was about 1,000 tons in size. Mr. Cox passed away in Kingsport, Nova Scotia, in 1916 when he was eighty-eight years old.

What Happened Later

C. Rufus Burgess owned the Skoda until the year 1900. Then, a company called the Barquentine Skoda Company, Limited, from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, took over ownership. In 1912, the Skoda was sold again to Lester Ashley Rodden from Mobile, Alabama. The ship was then registered at the port in Mobile in 1915.