Forman Hawboldt – Inventor and Entrepreneur

Forman Hawboldt (1876-1956) was an extraordinary inventor, entrepreneur and community builder. He lived in Chester, Nova Scotia and started his career as a watchmaker and jewelry store owner. Forman was mechanically-inclined though he had no formal education in engineering. He was a ‘backyard mechanic,’ using his barn as a machine shop.

This exhibit tells the story of Forman Hawboldt’s many enterprises and achievements. It is also the story of how one man’s vision, ingenuity and perseverance shaped the future of a small rural Nova Scotia community at the beginning of the twentieth century and changed the face of the Atlantic fishery forever.

Forman Hawboldt’s vision is carried on by the current Hawboldt Industries. Their products are at work everywhere from the Arctic to Antarctica, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and every waterway in between.