In 1821, Philo Taylor built the Prudence, which was launched on the river opposite where the New England block now stands. In 1826, John Blair built the Macedonian, of sixty tons, and in the same year the Lake Serpent, forty tons, was built by Captain Bartiss and sailed by him. The first steamboat built in Cleveland was the Enterprise, built by Levi Johnson in 1826, but not floated into the lake until the following year. The enterprise of ship building pursued a steady course in Cleveland for a number of years, a few vessels being added annually, until about the year 1853, when the business took a sudden start and made rapid progress. For the next few years the ship yards were busy and the ship building interest was one of the most important branches of the business of the city. In 1856, a total of thirty-seven lake crafts, sail and steam, was reported built, having a tonnage of nearly sixteen thousand tons. During the past twenty years, nearly five hundred vessels of all kinds, for lake navigation, have been built in the district of Cuyahoga, and of these all but a small proportion were built in Cleveland. The description of vessels built has greatly altered during that time, the size of the largest class having more than trebled. During the year 1868, there were built in this port four propellers, one steamer and three schooners, with an aggregate of 3,279 tons. This is much less in number and tonnage than in some previous years, but still gives Cleveland the lead in the ship building of the lakes. The absorption of the flats on the lower part of the river for railroad and manufacturing purposes, and for lumber yards, has seriously incommoded the ship building interests by restricting the space available for ship yards. In the division of the ship building business of the lakes in past years, the construction of large side-wheel steamers was principally carried on at Buffalo, whilst in first class propellers and sailing vessels Cleveland immeasurably distanced all competitors, both in the quantity and quality of the craft turned out. As the demand for side-wheel steamers lessened, the site of their construction was removed from Buffalo to Detroit. Cleveland-built propellers, however, take front rank, and Cleveland-built sail vessels have found their way over every part of the lake chain, sailed down the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to South American ports, and crossing the Atlantic, have penetrated nearly every European sea. Everywhere they have done credit to their builders by their speed, sea worthiness, and excellent construction. Just here it is proper to place, on record the history of an attempt to establish a direct trade with Europe, which gave abundant promise of good results, both to the commercial and ship building interests of the city. It has already been referred to in this work, but it appropriately falls within the scope of this sketch.