Henry W. Embree and Sons, Boatbuilders, was a boat yard in

Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia Port Hawkesbury (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Chlamhain'') is a municipality in southern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. While within the historical county of Inverness, it is not part of the Municipality of Inverness County. History ...

, that operated from 1859 to 1948. The youngest son of a boatbuilding family, Henry Embree established his own boat yard between Brown and Pitt Streets, on the Port Hawkesbury waterfront, next to the P. Paint and Sons warehouse. Between 1815 and 1822, Samuel and Thomas Bangs Embree moved to Port Hawkesbury and began building ships from their shipyard on Embree Island. At times, Embree Shipbuilding employed as many as thirty men and was responsible for building at least five

schooners A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, six brignantines, and one

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

. Henry Embree learned the craft from his family and became known for his skill in boatbuilding. In 1883, H. W. Embree and Sons were responsible for sending a fishing banker, or "Canso boat," to the

International Fisheries Exhibition The International Fisheries Exhibition was a Victorian era scientific, cultural, and animal exhibition open in South Kensington, London, United Kingdom, between May 12 and October 31, 1883. (The busiest day was May 15, when the official visitor co ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where it won the first medal out of 7500 competitors. Displayed at full mast with a wax mannequin for a captain, the boat was purchased and used by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, who would become

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. Plans for the same boat were later purchased by the

United States Fish Commission The United States Fish Commission, formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1 ...

, as well as representatives from the

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and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The H.W. Embree boat yard constructed a variety of vessels, from fishing boats to schooners. Freeman Embree, one of the sons of Henry Embree, recalled that they constructed a house boat for

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

; the ''Princess'' for

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

, a Halifax philanthropist and businessman; and the ''Glencairn'' for J.H. Duggan. He also recalls building a "fast boat" for Mrs. Bell, which was unfortunately sold and later used for

rum-running Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...

. At one time, the boat yard employed twenty-four men, as well as nineteen men on the night shift. After the death of Henry W. Embree, Freeman Embree continued to run the business until it was sold in 1948.

References

{{coord missing, Nova Scotia Maritime history of Canada Buildings and structures in Nova Scotia History of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Boatyards