Boatbuilding

Crittenden, Eclipse, and Hobson were ideal spots for boatbuilding, located close to the mouth of the James River where the Chuckatuck Creek provides a protected harbor. In the past 150 years the creek has been the site of more than a dozen marine railways or ”haul-out” systems for getting boats out of the water so they can be worked on dry land. Boats that are out of the water are often referred to as boats on “the hard.”

Among the early boatbuilders and owners of marine railways were some of the most familiar names in the villages-Charles E. Bush, L.L. Johnson, Ed Moore, L.D. Moger, Herman Anderson, and Joe Edmonds- all well-known beyond the village borders as outstanding boatbuilders.

Railways operating between 1880-2000
Moger Marine Railway
Bush Marine Railway
Adams Marine Railway -Adams Oyster Company
Moore Marine Railway
Johnson’s Marine Railway
Blyth Marine Enterprises
Joe Edmonds
Herman Anderson
Keeling Boat works-Chuckatuck and later Bleakhorn Creek

*Excerpt from The River Binds Us, 2007

Browse photos below or type in the search bar to explore.

L L Johnson Railway & Bush Railway in Crittenden - late 1800s (Bill Keeling)

Adams Railway-Oyster Company 1930--Hobson Waterfront (Bill Keeling)

L.L. Johnson at his railway c. 1930s (Rheva Gray Stilley-Reid)

Millie Gray with grandfather L.L. Johnson at the railway

Adams Oyster Company c.1961 (Del Carson)

Buyboat Chesapeake (Karla Smith)

Schooner Privateer (Polly Crittenden Moore)

Boat under construction at Adams Marine Railway (Mike Gray)

L.L. Johnson's Upper Yard (Frances Higgins Darden)

Captain Ed Bush - Bush Railway (Bill Keeling)

Yacht Hoi Toi

Dow Moger (Audrey Moger)

Lorenzo Dow Moger making oyster tongs - 1921 (Audrey Moger)

Schooner on the Hard

Captain Theodore Haughwout

Mrs Mary Higgins with Mary & Vernon Lee Higgins - Johnsons Railway (Frances Higgins Darden)

KATIE- Built in 1915

Boats at Adams Marine Railway - Boosey's (Thomas Hazelwood)

Blythe Marine 1970s (Ralph Blythe)

Volvo Marine Testing

Bill Keeling building the Corbin c.early 1980s (Bill Keeling)

Bill Keeling's Shop

BRENDA CAROL (Virginian Pilot)

Crab Pot Time (Karla Smith)

Hauling out on Bill Keeling's Railway

Watermen's Children

Yacht Claremont (Rheva Gray Stilley-Reed)

Captain L.L. Johnson at the main or upper yard.

Johnnie Lee Gray on his boat (J.C. Gray)

Johnny Hicks (John H. Sheally II)

JS MARDRE Jr

LOIS ON RAILWAY (Lisa Johnson)

Mariner Scout Restoration - Keelings Boatworks (Les Ward)

Mariner Scout Restoration (Les Ward)

Miss Cary at L.L. Johnson Railway (Frances Higgins Darden)

Old Dixon Oyster House in 1970s (Jean Hodges)

Osprey

Hooking up the Trailer

Bleakhorn Creek (Connie Andrews)

Mariner Scout

The Supervisers (Lisa Johnson)

Deckboat Lois (Lisa Johnson)

Circle Work (Mike Gray)

Bill Keeling Boatbuilding c.1980

Schooner at L.L. Johnson Marine Railway -c. 1928 (Polly Crittenden Moore)

Schooner Privateer - built 1928 at Johnson's Lower Yard (Polly Crittenden Moore)

Schooner VALENCIA built in 1924-1925 at the L L Johnson Marine Railway – Lower Yard in Crittenden Virginia

Shad Poles (Karla Smith)

The Chesapeake Built on Chuckatuck Creek (Karla Smith)

Thomas Post built sailboat for Arlene Gray and Matt Matthews (Arlene Gray Matthews)

Helen Windsor - White Wing - C F Miles (Bill Keeling)

— Helen Windsor - White Wing - C F Miles (Bill Keeling)

Yacht Claremont at L.L. Johnson Railway (Rheva Gray Stilley-Reed)