Discussing The Heart Of Noank

Last Wednesday evening at The Latham Chester Store in Noank, over 60 people attended a talk and slide show on the 20th century activities and history of the Noank Shipyard.  

The event was organized by Program Chairman of the Noank Historical Society, Barbara Eckleman, Sylvan Street Museum and a committee of panelists. 

The panel of local historians including Larry Jacobsen, Paul Bates, Arnold Crossman and Howard Davis, commented on the diverse collection of boats produced by the shipyard and shared their knowledge about its history.  

Eckleman gave a brief history of the shipyard, which was originally and most famously known as the The Robert Palmer and Son Shipping and Marine Railway Shipyard. It was often referred to as the Palmer Yard.  

Noank native and boat builder John Palmer, born in 1787, partnered with two of his sons, John and Robert. In 1832, they partnered with James A. Latham.  The brothers eventually took over the business and developed three yards.

“They built a marine railway in 1860 which was the largest between Boston and New York, and then had a rapid growth in business,”  said Eckelman.  

Noank’s surrounding deeper waters proved advantageous for ship building and repair.  As a result, Palmer shipyard prospered, building such well-known vessels as the Emma C. Berry and the Connecticut.

In the early 1900’s, the yard became run, down had produced more than 687 vessels and employed more than 500 men.

According to the panel, during and after WWI, the shipyard built military boats, cargo schooners, car floats, sailing vessels, submarines and did a tremendous amount of repair work. 

Charles W. Morse purchased the Palmer Shipyard in 1916. It was around the turn of the century that wooden ship building declined and gave way to more sturdy iron vessels, according to Noank Historical Society Curator Mary Anderson. 

The shipyard struggled financially, then suffered a massive loss in 1924.

 “A fire raged and destroyed practically all of the Noank shipyard as it was in the Palmer’s day," Howard Davis said. 

“It was so large that companies were brought in from New London, Mystic and Westerly,”  added marine historian Larry Jacobsen.  

The 1938 hurricane was the downfall of the shipyard, Davis said.  All boats were leveled, which left his grandfather jobless, his father $500 in debt and a multitude of workers seeking odd jobs to make ends meet.

Eventually, during WWII, the government contracted with the shipyards to build more wooden boats.

Davis, a retired Noank shipyard employee said, “We built and launched a 97-foot mine sweeper. I had the privilege of being aboard the third when they launched it.  It was a thrill - she picked up speed all the way until she ran right off and got stuck in the mud.”

Constructing large wooden car floats to transport goods across rivers was a good part of the shipyard’s industry and may be again in the near future. Larry Jacobsen mentioned an act is in the works to create a national maritime highway from Florida to Massachusetts.    

”One of the parts of that bill would like to reestablish car floats on the Hudson river,"  Jacobsen said.  "We are going full cycle now and we will pretty soon see car floats on the Hudson river again that don’t look much different than those produced here years ago.”