From Launches to “Gold Platers” and Everything in Between! Matthews Boat Company Spans 84 Years of Boat Building – Fall 1990
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The Great Lakes… 84% of the continent’s fresh water… a different story in every drop.
By Samuel A. Jaeger
90-foot Cruiser TRAMP built for Mrs. M.A. Hanna. Image from the Inland Seas 1990 Fall Issue.
It has been reported that King Alfonso of Spain fled his country in a Matthews Launch in 1931. This perhaps little known incident tells us something about the breadth and scope of a company that started in Bascom, Ohio in 1890 and moved to Port Clinton, Ohio in 1906. “Mr. Matthews passed away in 1956, but the company remained in the family until about 1965. It went out of business in 1974,” said Scott Reynolds, grandson of Matthews.
Mr. Matthews was inducted into The Ohio Business Hall of Fame May 17, 1990 in Toledo, 100 years after he founded his company. He was honored for “his outstanding accomplishments as a business and civic leader.” The Ohio Business Hall of Fame, Toledo, is sponsored by Junior Achievement and provides recognition for business leaders who have made significant contributions and to provide role models for young people.
Port Clinton News Herald
Trial run on Lake Erie, the first 38-foot stock Cruiser. Image from the Inland Seas 1990 Fall Issue.
72-foot ONWARD with Alan Matthews on the bow. Image from the Inland Seas 1990 Fall Issue.
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