Herman Melanson’s Boat Shop on Water Street was constructed by Melanson’s father in 1954. Herman and his mother continued to live there after it was sold to Arthur Harrington in 1985. Harrington’s heirs had a sales agreement with developers who planned to build condos. The building burned in a spectacular fire on August 7, 2009, along with three boats and several vehicle. In previous years, Melanson’s shop had been an active facility. Mr. Melanson and his healthcare worker managed to escape. In 2015, Riverine LLC submitted a plan to build a three-unit, multifamily building on the empty lot. A new building sits on the location now.

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, this was the location of a three-story coal building, which was moved to Brown Square and used as a grain silo. Today it is part of Tedford’s Lumber.