A History of 451 Main Street

The Manhasset Bay Shipyard, Inc. located at 451 Main Street was originally part of the Mitchell Farms property.

In the mid-1800s, the Mitchell family began to subdivide and sell parcels of their property. Still, the family retained the property stretching from the shore of Manhasset Bay east to present-day Mackey Avenue, which included the homestead and the waterfront property that is today the Manhasset Bay Shipyard.

In 1887, a man named Elbert Stannard purchased that parcel of land. Stannard, originally from Westbrook, CT, went to sea at age 14 and worked through the ranks, eventually becoming a well-regarded clipper ship captain. Captain Stannard traveled the world, including to the Far East. After 30 years at sea, Stannard retired as a ship captain and settled in Port Washington, purchasing the former Mitchell property and opening a salvage yard on the waterfront where Manhasset Bay Shipyard is today. Stannard purchased wooden Civil War-era ships from the U.S. Navy and towed them to his shipyard on Manhasset Bay, where he would salvage materials from them and sometimes convert them into freight and passenger vessels.

While information about 451 Main Street is scarce after Stannard died in 1920, a few mentions in the Port Washington News note that Frank Pearce and his sons owned the shipyard for many years. On August 24, 1934, a Port Washington News article announced the opening of the Peterson Shipyard under the supervision of T.E. Peterson on the shoreline of Manhasset Bay between Manhasset Bay and Knickerbocker Yacht Clubs. Considerable improvements have been made, and new ways to accommodate any boat type have been installed and are ready for use. Mr. Peterson stated that the yard is ready for operation and that any form of repair work, such as building and storing all kinds of boats and yachts, will be done.

Another article on August 31, 1936 reported: last winter 80 yachts were hauled out at this yard and others had to be turned away because of lack of space. Additional fill has increased the available space so that more than 100 yachts taking the average length at 40 feet, can be accommodated this fall. Mr. Thorston Peterson, well known to Port Washington and vicinity having acquired the Stannard property between the Knickerbocker and Manhasset Bay Yacht Clubs is a strong booster for Port Washington and recognizes the fact that this port has the finest harbor and is the most popular rendezvous for yachts of every description to be found anywhere on the Sound or in the vicinity of the Metropolitan area. He believes that all the yacht owners who make this their home should have the facilities at hand for storing and repairs of every description. Peterson’s Shipyard operated up until at least the late 1960s.