The American Civil War was still fresh in the minds of Americans when the two-masted scow-schooner ROCKAWAY was launched on November 13, 1866, at the Chandler, Alvord & Co. shipyard at Oswego, New York, along the south Lake Erie shore. Here she began a commercial career in the lumber trade that was to span 25 years. She was large for her type, with an LOA of 111', a 24' beam, and drawing a mere 61/2'. The Oswego Commercial Advertiser and Times described her as "staunch and trim... sliding gracefully down the ways and out into her native element."rnSchooners working on the Great Lakes during this period were the 18-wheelers of their time. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 spurred their proliferation and evolution, in turn expanding commerce.
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