Deed / Receipt from Josiah Smith [boatbuilder] of Hanover, Massachusetts, for the "Garland", 1801

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

The town of Hanover, Massachusetts was incorporated in 1727. The site of "Smith's yard" in Hanover was about 300 yards below the old North River Bridge, and 12 miles inland from the ocean. Shipyards were first located on the banks of the North River and the area called the Four Corners became well known for the many ships launched.

The four Smith brothers were involved with their ship building business by 1792: Albert, Josiah, Thomas, and Millar. Their shipyard activities included building, financing construction of ships, facilitating operations through joint ventures, and sailing ships. More than half of the 31 vessels built by the Smiths were large vessels of 200 tons or more (a measure of the cargo the vessel could carry). Many of their ships were used for trade with ports in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Sources

Barker, Barbara. (n.d.) Highlights of Early Hanover. Town of Hanover, Massachusetts website. Hanover-ma.gov/about-our-town/pages/highlights
Briggs, Lloyd Vernon. (1889). History of shipbuilding on North River, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Coburn Brothers, Printers. Retrieved from Internet Archive website: archive.org/details/historyofshipbui00brigg/page/n11/mode/2up
Wolfe, Lori. (2019. November 14). Smith's Shipyard. North & South Rivers Watershed Association. nsrwa.org/smiths-shipyard/