In the 1870s, Ward, Stanton & Co., formerly Newburgh manufacturers of iron, entered shipbuilding, which continued to expand on the waterfront even as brick making began to rise. John Delany, an immigrant from Kilkenny, Ireland, formed a partnership with Samuel Stanton, superintendent of Washington Iron Works, and Luther C. Ward, a manager, in 1872.Nutt, 428 Their first location was a dock and large brick building on the east side of South Water Street. In 1877, the persuaded Marvel to join their firm and manage their new yards, to which he obliged. With subsequent enlargement, the company hired 300 men to construct wooden and iron steam vessels, ferry-boats, engines, boilers and towing propellers. The works crumbled after a ruinous fire in 1882. Two years later, Marvel joined Delany in formation of the Thomas S. Marvel Shipyards.
