As the boating season is in full force at area lakes, we are reminded that Albion once had boats manufactured right here in town. It was in 1910 that local sportsman Frank H. Darrow (1869-1945) built a steel flat bottom boat for himself in his barn at 612 E. Erie St. The Darrow Boat Company was incorporated in 1912.
As the boating season is in full force at area lakes, we are reminded that Albion once had boats manufactured right here in town. It was in 1910 that local sportsman Frank H. Darrow (1869-1945) built a steel flat bottom boat for himself in his barn at 612 E. Erie St. The Darrow Boat Company was incorporated in 1912. Darrow obtained a patent from the U.S. Patent Office, and began producing them commercially in a fence and pipe storage building in the Market Place. Darrow also held a patent for a specialty fishing reel he designed.
Following World War I, he moved to an old livery “barn” at 110 N. Clinton St., which once housed horses and delivery wagons. During the 1910s this building served as the “City Paint Shop” for painting carriages and wagons.
The Darrow Boat Company produced a complete line of steel boats. One of its popular models was a sectional steel boat which could be dismantled for easy mounting on the side of an automobile and driven to a lake. One half of the boat could be fitted inside the other half. This meant not having to procure a trailer to haul the boat from the back. One customer transported his Darrow boat on the side car of his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Boats from the Darrow Boat Company were shipped all over the United States.
Following Frank’s death in 1945, the company was operated by his nephews Merrill and Melvin McCune, and later managed by Frank’s daughter Lola (Darrow) McCune (1892-1968). The firm moved to a Quonset hut at 944 Austin Avenue in 1947, where it operated until its closure in 1951. The firm just couldn’t compete with the newly developed materials such as aluminum and fiberglass that had been developed during World War II and were being used to make boats. What happened to their old location on N. Clinton St? After remaining vacant for a year, the building became the home of the Albion Bowling Lanes in 1948. It operated until 1963. The building was destroyed by fire on August 7 of that year.
From our Historical Notebook this week we present a picture, circa 1920, of a Darrow Boat manufactured at its N. Clinton St. headquarters, courtesy of Sherry McCune, great-great granddaughter of Frank Darrow. This view was taken from the front door of the firm, looking west towards Clinton St. In the distance is the old Albion Steam Dye Works building at 109 N. Clinton St., and the original Norman H. Wiener building at 111 N. Clinton St; both buildings no longer exist. There are still a few Darrow boats that exist today in our area. How many of our readers have ever seen one, or have been in one?
