A History of 451 Main Street

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, but 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 Manhasset Bay Shipyard.

In 1887, that parcel of land was purchased by a man by the name of Elbert Stannard. Stannard, originally from Westbrook, CT, went to sea at age 14 and worked his way up 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 located 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.

Mr. and Mrs. Whitmer pose with the wreckage of the schooner Emily Wells at Stannard’s Shipyard, September 1901.

In 1889, six wooden warships and two schooners caught fire at Stannard’s shipyard, burning down to the water line. Eyewitness accounts state that the flames illuminated the skies for miles and smoke filled the streets near the beach. Many thought that either Jamaica or Flushing was burning down, as a glare could be seen as far off as the Rockaways.

While information is scarce about 451 Main Street after Stannard’s death in 1920, a few mentions in the Port Washington News note that for many years the shipyard was owned by Frank Pearce and his sons. 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 had been made and new ways which will accommodate any type of boat have been installed and are ready for use. Mr. Peterson stated that the yard is ready for operation and any form of repair work, building and storing of all kinds of boats and yachts will be done.

A postcard image of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club (left), dated to sometime in the 1920s, shows an active shipyard in the area to the right of the clubhouse

Another postcard image taken from the front veranda of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club during the same 1920s period shows the shipyard next door.

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