Derby History Quiz

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The Modesty - the last ship built in Derby, CT

The Modesty

The boat pictured above was the "Modesty" and it was built and launched in Derby. In fact, it was the last boat to be built and launched in Derby. If you take a close look at the picture and use the people as a guide, you will get an idea of just how big it was. It was a schooner built by the Hallock family and it weighed 200 tons. As respondent Mary Lou Boroski pointed out, " These schooners hauled oak planking and livestock, and returned with sugar, rum, and molasses."  Derby had a thriving boat building business coupled with an active mercantile trade for decades. When those businesses died out, the city turned to manufacturing.

Correct answers were received from: Mary Lou Boroski, Henry Wajdowicz, Edward Baclawski, Marsha Pettingill, Randy Ritter, Gene Wajdowicz, Ann Searles.

To see our other earlier quizzes and learn more about Derby's unique history, click here.