Herreshoff Manufacturing Company

The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, founded in 1878 by brothers John Brown Herreshoff (blind industrialist) and Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (the “Wizard of Bristol”) in Bristol, Rhode Island, became the most celebrated American yacht-building firm of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From its modest waterfront shops on Burnside Street, the company produced an astonishing range of vessels: small dinghies, one-design classes (Buzzards Bay Boys’ Boats, Newport 29s, New York 30s and 50s), revolutionary steam launches and torpedo boats, eight consecutive America’s Cup defenders from 1893 to 1934 (Vigilant, Defender, Columbia twice, Reliance, Resolute twice, and Enterprise), and countless custom cruising yachts that defined the Golden Age of yachting. Famous for lightweight laminated construction, bronze hardware cast in-house, and Nathanael’s genius in hull form and rigging, the firm built over 2,000 boats before closing in 1945 after the death of both brothers and the decline of large-yacht demand during World War II.
The name was revived in 1971 when Halsey C. Herreshoff (Nathanael’s grandson) restarted production as a separate entity, building fiberglass versions of classic designs (Herreshoff 12½ “Doughdish,” Goldeneye, Alerion, and the original Herreshoff Eagle) until 1984. A second revival occurred in the 1990s–2000s under different ownership, again producing Doughdish 12½s and some custom classics. Today the original 1863-founded site is occupied by the Herreshoff Marine Museum / America’s Cup Hall of Fame, which preserves the company’s drawings, half-models, and legacy while still commissioning occasional new builds and restorations in the same historic buildings.