Started by James Bellinger in 1946 at a landlocked site on Bartram Road in Jacksonville, Florida, the company built 21 boats before moving to a site on Pablo Creek, a tributary to the Intercoastal Waterway. Bellinger Shipyard manufactured another 17 boats in the new location before closing permanently at the end of 1952. However, the man who launched the business returned to shipbuilding in a new location. Like hundreds of other shipyards in the country, Bellinger Shipyard exposed workers to asbestos to a great extent, which is why many of these people are suffering from awful diseases today. Asbestos would have a main role in the shipbuilding industry during the last century, being used mostly as insulation.
760-621-6147