Manistee, Michigan, is one of those logging era boomtowns of the late 1800’s that sprang up along the shores of Lake Michigan. Wood from the local forests built Chicago twice: once before the Great Fire of 1871 and again after it.
Starting in 1929, the Century Boat Company began manufacturing boats in Manistee and continued doing so for the next 56 years. Main operations
were located at the former factory of the Manistee Novelty Company.
This was one of National Novelty Corporation’s chain of factories across the US that made various wood products such as washboards, furniture, and sleds. It had a large kiln and was conveniently located on the river channel between Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake. Not only did the local Chamber of Commerce provide incentives to Century to move from its original Milwaukee location, there also was a wood working labor force readily available.
Century didn’t make use of the local pine trees in their boats, but instead fed off the abundant supply of wood from nearby Grand Rapids, the center of the U.S. furniture industry at that time. Railroad boxcars full of mahogany and oak were frequently bought up the 150 miles of track. Its new Michigan location brought Century geographically closer to the center of the automobile industry in Detroit. Auto part salesmen selling steering wheels, upholstery, flooring, fasteners, gauges and a host of other supplies visited their purchasing department regularly and more importantly, they had access to the engine makers who were now close at hand.
Century purchased engines from all the major marine engine manufacturers located in Michigan. The list included Gray Marine of Detroit and its Continental engine blocks from Muskegon; Dearborn Marine’s Interceptor models made from Ford blocks; Chrysler Marine, a subsidiary of Chrysler Corporation, Detroit; and Crusader Marine, the successor of Cal Connell’s operation and its Cadillac blocks.
All of these engine makers courted Century to outfit as many models as possible. The competition among them resulted in Century installing the most modern and largest engines of its day. The result was “the fastest boat on the lake” moniker for the new boat owner. Dealers loved it and I loved sitting with my dad in Chrysler’s box seats at Tiger Stadium watching Detroit wallop the NY Yankees.
Manistee is an industrial town with a paper mill, salt plants, a magnesium oxide facility and (formerly) a sand mining operation. Which means, it’s a union town. The boat company workers were union men and the typical contentious labor-management relationship existed. Nonetheless the boat company was the place in town where workers made something exquisite; they were craftsmen of wood, chrome, and upholstery. Most of the boat company workers were of Polish, German or Scandinavian descent. Many were part-time farmers who skillfully employed their jack-of-all-trades ingenuity. All were wood workers at one time or another. Inside the plant was a constant cloud of wood dust. It had poor ventilation except in the summer when the windows were opened. Mountains of sawdust accumulated outside. The aroma of mahogany was everywhere.
Century made Manistee known throughout the United States. Dealers and customers came to town frequently; occasionally foreigners visited, too. The local Chamber of Commerce loved it and Century always had a shiny new boat in the 4th of July parade to show the locals what their neighbors made at the plant.
At the end of summer the company would launch next year’s models in Portage Lake in nearby Onekama where the new boat was photographed with a Michigan backdrop for the annual catalog publication. At the winter boat shows in Chicago, Detroit, and New York the local Manistee High School homecoming queen would have her moment of fame when Bill Wittig, VP of Sales, handed out the new catalog with her picture on the cover.
Not only did a gang of auto related designers, advertisers and engineers occasionally arrive in Manistee from Detroit, but also in the early years after Ted Hewitt of New York City purchased Century, the Yankees came to town. Always booking into the local Chippewa Hotel, the distinct Brooklyn accents of accountants, bankers and designers turned the local heads as Mr. Hewitt held court in the dining room long into the night. At times you could swear you were in Manhattan at Toots Shor’s club.
Eventually, the boat company switched to fiberglass construction during the late 1960’s. It renovated a couple of canning factories on Lake Manistee into an efficient production line with a large, adjacent, pole barn for the laminating process. Sales grew and grew and before you knew, it seemed everybody in Manistee was working at Century. For a short period in the mid-1970’s boats were made around the clock, six days a week and Century employed over 400 locals.
In the 1980’s the lure of cheap labor, tax incentives, and low utility bills induced Century to locate a plant in Panama City, Florida. Maintaining two locations was not cost effective so ultimately all operations were moved to Florida. The last Century boat built in Manistee, was in 1985 but still to this day, Century Boats and Manistee, Michigan, remain synonymous.
This story, which originally appeared in the summer, 2010 issue of ACBS Rudder was written by Thomas Holmes.
Thanks for sharing the article written by Thomas Holmes and the history of Manistee and Century boats. I’m an owner of 1948 Century Sea Maid and avid reader and follower of all-things Century Boats – Thomas is an excellent and skilled writer-publisher of The Century Boat Club newsletter.
An interesting and exciting follow up is that boat building has recently returned in a big way to Manistee with a heritage series of NEW boats from Mike Kamaloski and his Thoroughbred Boat Company; specializing in Thoroughbred U23, the restoration of vintage Fiberglass Century boats, AND also now in partnership with Roger Pacina to build Lancer Craft!
Growing up I remember my grandmother’s neighbor sanding and varnishing his big century runabout each spring. He was getting it prepared to go to his cottage on Conesius Lake. I was lucky to always get a ride when we visited.
Excellent article on Manistee! Enjoyed it!!!