DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Levingston Shipbuilding Company and Edward T. Malloy, down in Orange County. Now, you want a story that stretches from the docks of Ireland all the way to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico?
Pull up a chair, because this one's got some real mileage to it. It starts in 1859. Three brothers — Samuel, David, and John Levingston — came over from Ireland and arrived in Orange.
They didn't come empty-handed in spirit, I'll tell you that. They purchased an existing shipyard, and for more than thirty years, those three men built wooden ships right there on the water. More than thirty years.
That's not a business, that's a calling. Now, Samuel had a son. They called him Captain George Levingston — and that title alone tells you something about the man's bearing.
George struck out on his own, establishing his own shipbuilding business in 1919 and 1920. Then in 1930, he made a move that would anchor everything that came after: he purchased five acres at Front and Mill Streets in Orange, enlarging his operation. The Levingston Shipbuilding Company put its roots down at that location, and it would never leave.
That address became the company's home for the rest of its existence. Times got slow in the 1930s — slow for everybody. But in 1933, the company incorporated, and that decision kept the doors open through the lean years.
Then 1939 brought a man named Edward T. Malloy through those doors. He was hired as general manager.
Steady, capable, the kind of man a company leans on without quite realizing how much — until he bought the controlling interest in 1945 and became president. He stayed with Levingston for thirty-seven years. Thirty-seven years.
The company was in his bones. But let's talk about the war, because that's where this story shifts into something else entirely. Levingston Shipbuilding had already begun construction of military vessels before the United States even entered World War II.
When the country did enter the fight, the company was ready — and the work poured in. On December 13, 1941 — just days after everything changed — Levingston delivered its first vessel for the war effort. She was a 530-ton steel tugboat named the Tuscarora.
Five hundred and thirty tons of American steel, sliding into the water right there in Orange, Texas. That was only the beginning. Between 1941 and 1945, Levingston built and delivered a total of 160 vessels for the U.S.
Navy and U.S. Army. Tugs, tankers, barges, ocean-going rescue tugs — 160 vessels.
That number just sits there and demands your respect. And when the war was over? Well, Levingston didn't sit still.
The company read the changing times and turned its eyes offshore — to the deep water, to the rigs. They became a worldwide leader in the design, engineering, and construction of offshore drilling rigs, jack-up platforms, and self-propelled drilling ships. And here's the part that really lands: Levingston Shipbuilding was the only U.S. builder of all five types of offshore drilling rigs.
All five types. The only one. They kept at it until 1985, when the company ceased operations — more than a century after three brothers from Ireland walked into a shipyard in Orange and decided to build something that would last.
And friend, you could make the case they succeeded.
What the marker says
In 1859, three brothers, Samuel, David and John Levingston, arrived in Orange from Ireland and purchased an existing shipyard, where they built wooden ships for more than thirty years. The son of Samuel Levingston, "Captain" George Levingston, established his own shipbuilding business in 1919-1920. In 1930, Levingston purchased five acres at Front and Mill Streets in Orange, enlarging his operation, and Levingston Shipbuilding Company operated from this location fro the remainder of its existence. Incorporation in 1933 sustained the company during the slow economic times of the 1930s. Edward T. Malloy was hired in 1939 as a general manager, and stayed with the company for thirty-seven years, becoming president of the company when he bought the controlling interest in 1945. World War II brought a vast influx of business--the company had begun construction of military vessels before the United States entered the war, and continued to be a major supplier for the Army and Navy during the duration. Levingston Shipbuilding delivered its first vessel for the war effort, a 530-ton steel tugboat named Tuscarora on December 13, 1941. Between 1941 and 1945, Levingston built and delivered a total of 160 vessels for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army including tugs, tankers, barges and ocean going rescue tugs. After World War II, Levingston Shipbuilding changed with the economic times and became a worldwide leader in the design, engineering and construction of off-shore drilling rigs, jack-up platforms, and self-propelled drilling ships. Levingston Shipbuilding was the only U.S. builder of all five types of offshore drilling rigs until it cesed operations in 1985. (2008)