Our History

In 1858, the first trans-Atlantic cable was laid, Minnesota, still a frontier State, was petitioning for Statehood, and Abraham Lincoln was debating Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery in the senatorial election. In the same year Shaw and Tenney began making high quality paddles and oars at a shop on the Stillwater River in Orono, Maine. Manufactured with water-powered machinery, the paddles and oars we produced helped to propel thousands of small boats during a time when skiffs, peapods, and canoes were vessels of commerce.

Today, over 150 years later, Shaw & Tenney is the third oldest manufacturer of marine products in America. We are still manufacturing the same high quality products, using virtually unchanged designs. Some of the original machinery used in 1858 is still in operation today.

The company originated as the Orono Manufacturing Company in 1858 (and though there are several references to its beginning in 1856, the history is sketchy). The plant was located on an island in the Stillwater River and manufactured oars, paddles, and handles for brooms and tools. In the 1890's, Orono Manufacturing, then owned by Frank Tenney, merged with a Boston-based business called the George Shaw Company that also made paddles and oars. The business moved to Orono's Main Street and remained there until around 1950 when it moved to the current location, 20 Water Street in Orono, Maine.

The Tenney family retained ownership until about 1970 when the company underwent three short-lived transitions to different owners. In 1978 the company was purchased by Paul and Helen Reagan who broadened the product line and successfully expanded Shaw & Tenney into the retail marketplace. In 2003, the Reagans retired and ownership passed to Steve Holt and Nancy Forster-Holt of Orono. The Holts and their children continue to expand the product line and will carry on the long standing tradition of producing goods of unsurpassed quality and providing exceptional customer service.