Identification & Builder Profile

Name: Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. (Rieboldt & Wolter Shipyard, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin)

Type: Great Lakes shipyard and dry dock (wooden vessels; later site of steel shipbuilding)

Primary Activities:
New construction and major repair of wooden steamers, barges, tugs, dredges, and local workboats;
construction and operation of dry docks.

Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. was one of the key wooden-ship builders on the Great Lakes in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Beginning in Sheboygan and then relocating to Sturgeon Bay,
the firm became the foundational shipyard on the site that would eventually evolve into
Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock and ultimately
Bay Shipbuilding / Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.

Location & Facilities

Primary Great Lakes Location

East shore of Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin — on the protected bay just
inside the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal to Lake Michigan. This location provided a sheltered,
deep-water site ideally suited to new construction and major repair of wooden lake vessels.

Earlier Yard (Predecessor)

The firm originated at Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where Rieboldt & Wolter established
a shipyard and dry dock on the Lake Michigan shoreline in 1885. This Sheboygan yard operated first
as Rieboldt & Wolter and later as Rieboldt, Wolter & Co.

At Sturgeon Bay the company developed a substantial combined shipyard and dry-dock complex capable
of building sizeable wooden freighters and handling heavy repair traffic. Contemporary descriptions
portray the yard as one of the most reputable places on the lakes for wooden shipbuilding and repair.

Chronology

• 1885 — Partnership founded at Sheboygan
  Shipbuilder Joseph Wolter, trained at Milwaukee’s Wolf & Davidson yard,
  joins with Capt. August Rieboldt to open a shipyard and dry dock at Sheboygan.
• 1888 — Firm becomes Rieboldt, Wolter & Co.
  Investor Conrad Starkey of Milwaukee joins the partnership; from this point the company
  is widely known as Rieboldt, Wolter & Co., continuing to build steamers, tugs, dredges,
  and barges at Sheboygan.
• 1896 — Move to Sturgeon Bay
  Rieboldt and Wolter relocate their shipyard and dry dock from Sheboygan to
  Sturgeon Bay. The new yard rapidly becomes one of the leading industries on the
  Sturgeon Bay waterfront.
• 1896–1910s — Regional wooden-ship specialist
  Through the late 1890s and 1900s the Sturgeon Bay yard gains a strong reputation for new construction
  and major repair work on wooden Great Lakes vessels. Contemporary accounts note that ships often
  “limped in” in poor condition and were sent away from the yard in fully restored, “dapper” condition.
• 1917–1918 — World War I contracts and last newbuild
  Under U.S. Shipping Board / Emergency Fleet Corporation wartime contracts, the yard builds the
  wooden freighter STURGEON BAY (EFC Design 1007), laid down in 1917 and launched in
  April 1918. She is generally cited as the last vessel constructed by the Rieboldt, Wolter yard.
• 1918 — Sale to Universal Shipbuilding & retirement of founders
  In 1918 the Sturgeon Bay yard is sold to the newly formed Universal Shipbuilding Company
  for approximately $100,000. At this time Capt. August Rieboldt and Joseph Wolter retire from
  shipbuilding.
• 1920s onward — Successor yards on the same site
  Universal Shipbuilding and Sturgeon Bay Dry Dock Co. later merge (1926) to form
  Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., which continues to use the same
  waterfront site and ultimately becomes a major steel shipbuilder (especially during World War II).

Production & Notable Vessels

Sheboygan Era (Pre-1896)

From the Sheboygan yard, Rieboldt & Wolter / Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. built an estimated thirty-plus
vessels, including steamers, barges, tugs, dredges, and dump scows for Great Lakes trade and harbor work.

• Steamer HELENA (1888)
  One of the largest wooden ships ever built at Sheboygan; her launch drew large crowds and she later
  served as a bulk cargo carrier on the lakes.
• Other output
  Various steam barges, tugs, dredges, and scows built for regional commercial operators and harbor work.

Sturgeon Bay Era (c. 1896–1918)

At Sturgeon Bay the firm’s work shifted to a mix of new construction and extensive repair work
on lake vessels.

• Fishing tug SATISFACTION (1894; often attributed to Rieboldt, Wolter & Co.)
  Representative of the small working craft associated with the yard; later recorded as a Wisconsin wreck.
• Wooden freighters, barges, and tugs
  Numerous wooden cargo vessels and workboats for Great Lakes service, alongside regular repair and
  rebuilding of existing ships.
• Wood freighter STURGEON BAY (1918)
  Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1007 cargo ship; widely cited as the final vessel produced before
  the yard was sold to Universal Shipbuilding.

Shotline note:
When available, link individual wreck/ship pages (e.g., HELENA, STURGEON BAY,
SATISFACTION) to this builder via the Builders taxonomy.

Successor Companies & Legacy

The physical plant and waterfront site of Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. did not disappear
with the 1918 sale — it formed the core of a long succession of Sturgeon Bay shipyards:

1. Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. (Sturgeon Bay) —
   Wooden shipyard and dry dock (c. 1896–1918).
2. Universal Shipbuilding Co. —
   Purchased the yard in 1918; continued general shipbuilding and repair.
3. Sturgeon Bay Dry Dock Co. —
   Related yard active from 1920; merged in 1926 to form:
4. Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. —
   Significant builder of steel tugs, ferries, and military support vessels, particularly during
   World War II.
5. Bay Shipbuilding Co. —
   Formed in 1967 when the Manitowoc Company acquired Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock and
   Christy Corporation. Corporate histories trace the yard’s roots back to the original
   Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. operation.
6. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding —
   The modern owner/operator of the same Sturgeon Bay yard, building and repairing large Great Lakes
   and coastal vessels.

When divers and researchers talk about “Bay Ship” in Sturgeon Bay today,
the yard’s lineage runs directly back to Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. and its
wooden-ship dry dock on the east side of the bay.

Key People

Capt. August Rieboldt

Early ship-carpenter at A. P. Lyman’s yard in Sheboygan who later became senior partner in
Rieboldt, Wolter & Co. He helped build up the Sheboygan yard, then relocated
the operation to Sturgeon Bay in 1896. Rieboldt retired from shipbuilding when the yard was sold
to Universal Shipbuilding in 1918, but remained a respected figure in Great Lakes maritime circles.

Joseph Wolter

Born in Milwaukee and trained in shipbuilding at the Wolf & Davidson yards,
Wolter co-founded the Sheboygan yard with August Rieboldt in 1885 and moved with him to Sturgeon Bay.
He later became active in the Wisconsin Dredge & Dock Company and in local
civic life, serving as mayor of Sturgeon Bay and as an officer in local financial
institutions.

Shotline note:
Create separate Personnel entries for Capt. August Rieboldt and Joseph Wolter and cross-link
them to this builder and to any wrecks or artifacts associated with their work.

Research Notes & Cross-References (Shotline)

• Attach to Wrecks / Ships:
  HELENA, STURGEON BAY, SATISFACTION, and any other vessels confirmed as Rieboldt, Wolter newbuilds.
• Attach to Locations:
  Sturgeon Bay industrial waterfront; Sheboygan shipyard district.
• Attach to Artifacts:
  Builders’ plates, yard photographs, and archival plans from the Sheboygan and Sturgeon Bay works.
• Attach to Organizations:
  Universal Shipbuilding Co.; Sturgeon Bay Dry Dock Co.; Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.;
  Bay Shipbuilding / Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding.