Captain George M. Levingston

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Now, some folks leave a mark on a town. Captain George M.

Levingston, he left a whole shipyard. Born February 25, 1874, and he lived all the way to October 27, 1971. That's a life with some range to it.

And he used every bit of it. His father was a pioneer shipbuilder in the area, so you could say young George came into this world already smelling of timber and river water. He didn't stray far from that.

He learned the river, earned his captain's license, and put in years of hard work in the local shipyards around Orange. Then came 1933. Now, 1933 was not an easy year in America, not by a long shot.

But that is exactly the year George M. Levingston chose to form the Levingston Shipbuilding Company. Some men wait for fair weather.

Some men build ships in the storm. Under his direction, that company grew into a major Gulf Coast operation. Orange wasn't just a dot on the Sabine anymore.

It had an industry, and that industry had a captain. And he wasn't only watching the waterline, either. Back in the 1920s, Captain Levingston was serving on the Orange City Council, keeping an eye on the town as well as the river.

One man, one river town, and the will to build something that outlasted him. That's the story the marker tells.

What the marker says

(Feb 25, 1874-Oct. 27, 1971) A licensed river captain and the son of a pioneer area shipbuilder, George M. Levingston was a leader in the development of Orange's shipbuilding industry. In 1933, after years of experience in the local shipyards, he formed the Levingston Shipbuilding Company, which was to become a major Gulf Coast operation under his direction. In addition to his influence on the area's economic growth, Captain Levingston also served on the Orange City Council in the 1920s. Recorded - 1983