Grafton, Illinois, Boats were Big Business - Grafton, IL
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 38° 58.090 W 090° 26.070
15S E 722266 N 4316374
Grafton once had a boatworks operation that made boats that included lifeboats, skiffs, dredges, and ferries.
Waymark Code: WMWT1M
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/09/2017
Views: 4
In Grafton, at a parking lot near the Grafton Ferry, is this kiosk with a historical sign about the boatworks industry at Grafton.
The parking lot is located at the end of Market Street west of Illinois Route 100, and next to the road and ramp to the Grafton Ferry.
The kiosk is at the water edge, by boat ramps. There are three sides to the kiosk. Two of them are about canoeing and navigating on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The third has historical text on the boatworks.
The sign has a mixture of short paragraphs, captions and pictures. The paragraphsa are as follows:
"Grafton, Illinois
Boats were big business
The Famous Frieman Skiff
In 1892, a young Grafton boat-builder designed a skiff with white oak ribs and flared cypress sides. it became popular with fishermen all the way to New Orleans, and Peter Frieman continued to build them for fifty years. Below: Peter's son Mark in a Frieman skiff.
Everything from Canoes to Dredges
Boats of all types emerged from Rippley Manufacturing Company betweeen 1892 and 1921. The U.S. Navy placed an order for 1000 lifeboats during World War I. Steel-hull boats became a specialty and the clanging din of workers pounding red-hot rivets filled the Grafton air.
Grafton Boat Works
By 1924, Rippley had become Grafton Boat Works, building yachts, towboats, and rowboats. Steel King cruisers (above) joined the lineup in the 1950s. The US Army Corps of Engineers bought towboats and dredges, and the U.S. Navy ordered attack boats for the Vietnam War."
Images and Captions:
Upper Left-business card for Peter Frieman
Upper Right-picture of lifeboats - "The men with these World War I U.S. Navy lifeboats (above) may be two of the three Rippley brothers."
Upper Center-dredge boat - "The dredge Epsilon, built in 1898, cleaned up the Mississippi with three officers and a crew of thirty-seven."
Center left - picture of a skiff
Center Left 2 - picture of ferry - "This ferry was used on the Cheyenne River in South Dakota."
Center Right - Canoe - "Wooden Canoe"
Lower Left and Right - Custom 42 Steel King boat.
Other Sources:
Shipbuilding History:
(
visit link)
Mississippi River Water Trail Association:
(
visit link)