John Roach & Son

John Roach & Sons was a major 19th-century American shipbuilding and manufacturing firm founded in 1864 by Irish-American immigrant John Roach. Between 1871 and 1885, the company was the largest shipbuilding firm in the United States, building more iron ships than its next two major competitors combined. It was also by far the largest contractor to the U.S. Navy during this period, and at its peak is said to have been the nation's largest employer behind the railroads.

The company, originally named John Roach & Son, was established in 1864 as the operating and marketing firm for Roach's Etna Iron Works in New York, and gave Roach's eldest son, William Henry Roach, a stake in the business. Roach's other sons later joined the partnership.

As Roach's business empire expanded, a number of new companies were added as subsidiaries, the most important of which were the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works in Chester, Pennsylvania, which was the main shipbuilding facility, and the Morgan Iron Works in New York. A network of other companies supported these two manufacturing plants, making John Roach & Sons one of the first companies in the United States to adopt the vertical integration model.

Subsidiaries of John Roach & Sons included:

Other companies owned and controlled by the Roach family which may or may not have been formally incorporated as subsidiaries of John Roach & Sons include:

At its peak, John Roach & Sons is said to have had a larger payroll than any other company in the United States with the exception of the railroads, employing in excess of a total of 3,000 men at the Delaware River Shipbuilding Works and Morgan Iron Works alone.