1840-1921: Boat Building

Hope Town was the “Boat Building Capital of Abaco”. Harbour Mouth Cay,the area north of the lighthouse, was the center of the shipwright’s activity, there, they built schooners ranging in size from 50 to 484 tons. They also built “Smack Boats” and the handsome Bahama dinghys, you still see today, made by Winer Malone. Around 1900 Hope Town was the homeport for at least 200 one, two, and three masted vessels. In 1921 steam shipping became popular and the demand for wooden ships declined, leaving many men without work, they found work at the Wilson City Lumber Camp.