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Shortly after the town of Shelburne was founded, the Loyalist settlers not only busied themselves with the erection of sawmills, but also embarked upon the construction of boats and vessels to satisfy the needs of various branches of the fishery as well as supply watercraft for the coastal, West Indies and overseas trades. By December 1786 the "Nova Scotia Packet" reported that five or six schooners of about 80 tons each had been launched "here and in the neighbourhood, for the merchants of this town since last spring, besides a number of others of smaller burthens." Largest of these was the "The Roseway", a square rigged ship reputed to be 250 tons burden which was built for merchant importers, "McLean & Bogle", by Michael Bousfield in his shipyard at tidewater just north of King Street.
While many of the Loyalist master builders moved away when the town of Shelburne began to decline, a number of competent workmen were sufficiently skilled in designing and constructing vessels to insure the industry's survival into the 19th century.
Beginning in the 1820's an increased demand for new tonnage enabled the shipwrights of Shelburne, who had a ready supply of ship timber as well as numerous launch sites, to re-establish the community as one of the principal building centres in Altantic Canada.
Although Shelburne focused on the production of schooners, brigs and brigantines for much of the 19th century it also turned out several vessels of the larger class such as barques and full rigged ships.
In 1866 near the height of Nova Scotia's "Golden Age of Sail", eleven separate shipyards were active along a one mile stretch of the towns waterfront.
In addition to the Loyalist town's thriving ship building industry, during the latter half of the 19th century Shelburne also earned an enviable reputation as a centre for the construction of small boats. Although this latter industry can be traced back to its Loyalist orgins, it blossomed after the introduction of the dory for bank and shore fishing around 1855. By 1900 Shelburne had seven dory shops in operation and was reputed to be the largest producer of this type of watercraft in the world.

The fine reputation which the old Loyalist town earned as a ship and boat building centre during the 19 th century was enhanced by the achievements of her craftsmen in the 20 th century.The principal diffusion point in Atlantic Canada for modernized New England schooner designs, Shelburne became renowned for turning out a number of exceptionally fast vessels belonging to that class.

Quite aside from the production of two and three masted schooners, however, the yards of Shelburne also turned their production to motorized freighters, fish draggers, rumrunners, pilot boats, ferries and during WWII even a few minesweepers. The boat shops of Shelburne also modified their production to the construction of pleasure craft, extensively using the designs of internationally acclaimed naval architects such as Roue, Alden, Ferris, Burgess, Hoyt, Stevens, Belnap and Payne. Indeed, the products from these prolific shops and yards during the 1920's and 1930's were of such exceptional quality the the town became heralded as the "Birthplace Of Yachts".
Bestowed by the "Forth Estate", this name had a historic basis as well given that in 1786 the Shelburne built "Roseway Yacht", a remarkable 8 ton schooner, made a 28 day passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia to London, England.
While the boat shops and ship yards of Shelburne readily adapted to the products of motorized craft during the early yards of the 20th century, the difficulties in obtaining timber and the introduction of new materials such as steel and fiberglass began to seriously affect both industries.
During the latter half of the 20th century the shipbuilding yards and boatbuilding shops gradually began to wind up their business with the last boatbuilding shop closing in 1979 and the last wooden ship yard in 1984. Today both of these former concerns operate as working museums.

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Vessel launch notice from Shelburne newspaper of 1786
1786
Shelburne, Nova Scotia,Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum

3

Brigantine the 'Alvin Kelly'
1874
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

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Ship: 'Commerce' launched Shelburne, Nova Scotia in 1877.
1885
Shelburne, Nova Scotia ,Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum

5

Shipbuilding Crew shown with their shipbuilding tools
1880
Shelburne, Nova Scotia ,Canada

6

Shipbuilding Tools
1880
Dock Street, Shelburne, NovaScotia Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum

7

Fisheries Protection Service Schooners 'Osprey' and 'Kingfisher'
1899
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

8

Tern Schooner: Archie Crowell built at W.C. McKay Shipyard, Shelburne, Nova Scotia
1908
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

9

Tern Schooner the 'Lavengro'
1909
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

10

Schooner 'Jennie E. Ritcey'
1910
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

11

Ad for the John Etherington boat shop ca 1905.
1905
Shelburne County Museum, Shelburne, Nova Scotia Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum

12

John Williams Dory Shop
1890
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum

13

Yard of the John C. Williams Dory Shop
1890
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

14

A vessel being caulked in a Shelburne shipyard
1914
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada

Credits:
Collection of The Shelburne County Museum