Grafton Boat Works

Grafton Boat Works was started in 1892 by George, Frank and Will Rippley as the Rippley Hardware Company.  In 1910 they changed the name to the Rippley Boat Company and in World War I produced more than a thousand lifeboats.  In 1921, it was sold to Samuel Edwards and R. F. Purdy and the name was changed to the Mid-West Boat and Barge Company, but this did not last long and in 1923 it was sold again, to Everett Fry, who renamed it Grafton Boat Works.  Apart from building towboats and other vessels for the commercial market, this yard also produced, in the late 50s and early 60s, the SteelKing line of sturdy recreational boats, and in the late 60s and early 70s, almost 100 riverine-warfare craft for service in Vietnam.  The company closed in 1978.