Tradersville Yacht, Built By Chris Craft And Owned By Herb Adcox, Goes Up For Auction On May 26 Friday, May 14, 2021
Chris-Craft boats have a special place in the history of Chattanooga. The company was founded in the late 19th century by Christopher Columbus Smith and it became famous for the mahogany wood hull powerboats built in the 1920’s through the 1950’s.
A majority of the boats were built in the Holland, Michigan Chris Craft Cruiser Plant. But, in 1947 Chris-Craft came to Chattanooga and, on the former site of the Richmond Sewing Mill on Dodds Avenue, built a facility that would eventually employ hundreds in the River City. The first boat to come off the line was a 23-foot Express Cruiser and on June 4, 1947 it made its way to its first owner. A Chattanooga area doctor, Dr. T.C. Crowell, took possession of and captained his new boat to his home and boat garage on Chickamauga Lake.