Waterhouse Company

Waterhouse Company was an American custom coachbuilder based in Webster, Massachusetts. Founded in 1928 by Charles L. Waterhouse and his sons, Moses Sargent Waterhouse and Lewis Osbourne Waterhouse, the company produced individually specified automobile bodies for customers and manufacturers that supplied the underlying chassis. Its work belonged to the traditional coachbuilding sector, in which independent firms designed and constructed bespoke bodies rather than selling complete mass-produced automobiles under their own mechanical brand. The Waterhouse family had relevant industry experience before establishing the company. Charles L. Waterhouse had been a key employee at Judkins, another established American coachbuilder, while his sons had also spent several years there. This background gave the new enterprise knowledge of body construction, styling, and the practical requirements of working with automotive manufacturers and dealers. Waterhouse gained an important opportunity during the strong demand of the late 1920s. In 1929, Packard's export department asked the company to build a car for display at the Paris Salon. The request came with very little notice, and other coachbuilders reportedly declined to take it on. Waterhouse accepted the assignment and completed a body that attracted the attention of Packard's president. Packard subsequently placed orders for duplicate bodies, providing the young company with a notable connection to one of the leading American luxury-car manufacturers of the period. The company fitted custom bodies to chassis from a range of manufacturers. Documented marques associated with Waterhouse bodies include Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Lincoln, Du Pont, Chrysler, Marmon, and Stutz. These projects covered the luxury and prestige end of the automobile market, where customers valued distinctive body designs and hand-built construction. Waterhouse's identity was therefore tied less to a standardized model range than to its ability to execute custom bodywork on supplied chassis. The automobile-body division did not remain in operation indefinitely. The coachbuilding section closed in 1933, only a few years after the company was founded. The end of this activity reflected the difficult environment for independent custom body manufacturers during the early 1930s, although the available reference material does not state a single definitive reason for the closure. Waterhouse continued in other manufacturing activities, including the construction of small boats. During the Second World War it supplied marine ordnance, and after the war it produced furniture. Waterhouse Company is consequently remembered primarily as a short-lived but distinctive American coachbuilder of the classic-era automobile industry. Its significance rests on its family origins, its connection with Judkins, the 1929 Packard Paris Salon commission, and its custom bodies for several important luxury and performance marques. The company's later boat, wartime marine, and postwar furniture work shows that its manufacturing capabilities extended beyond automobile coachbuilding, but the available sources do not provide enough information to establish the dates, scale, product specifications, or ultimate fate of those later operations.

Waterhouse Company was established in Webster, Massachusetts, in 1928 by Charles L. Waterhouse and his sons Moses Sargent Waterhouse and Lewis Osbourne Waterhouse. The founders came from the established American coachbuilding trade. Charles had been a key employee at Judkins, and his sons had also worked there for several years. Their experience positioned the new company to manufacture high-quality custom bodies for automobile chassis supplied by major automotive businesses. The business entered the market at a time when wealthy buyers and automobile manufacturers still used independent coachbuilders for specialized body designs. Waterhouse did not primarily function as a producer of complete cars with its own mechanical platform. Instead, it constructed bodies tailored to chassis from established marques. The company is associated with bodies mounted on Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Lincoln, Du Pont, Chrysler, Marmon, and Stutz chassis, all brands connected with the upper levels of the American automobile market or with distinctive performance and luxury vehicles. Its most notable early commission came in 1929. Packard's export department needed a car for display at the Paris Salon and approached Waterhouse on very short notice. According to the available account, no other coachbuilder was willing to accept the assignment. Waterhouse completed the body, and the result attracted the attention of Packard's president. Packard then ordered duplicate bodies, giving Waterhouse valuable recognition and a direct relationship with a major luxury-car manufacturer. The automobile-body operation was brief. Waterhouse closed its coachbuilding section in 1933. The available reference does not provide detailed production totals, a complete model list, or a precise explanation for the closure. The end of the section placed the company's best-known work within the short period when American custom coachbuilding was still commercially viable before economic pressures and changing manufacturing practices reduced the role of independent body makers. Waterhouse did not immediately disappear as a manufacturing concern. It continued to build small boats, supplied marine ordnance during the Second World War, and made furniture after the war. These later activities demonstrate a broader manufacturing capability, but the surviving reference material does not document their individual product lines, contracts, facilities, or operating dates in detail. The company's public historical identity remains centered on its custom automobile bodies and particularly its 1929 Packard-related Paris Salon commission. Waterhouse Company is now treated as a historical, defunct coachbuilding brand rather than an active automotive manufacturer. Its importance lies in the quality and exclusivity of its custom work, its family connection to Judkins, its willingness to accept a demanding Packard commission, and the range of prestigious chassis on which its bodies were installed.

• 1933

  Coachbuilding section closes

  [1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Waterhouse ends its automobile coachbuilding operations while continuing in other manufacturing activities.

• 1929

  Packard Paris Salon commission

  [1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Waterhouse builds a body for a car commissioned by Packard's export department for exhibition at the Paris Salon. The design wins the attention of Packard's president, followed by orders for duplicate bodies.

• 1928

  Waterhouse Company is founded

  [1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Charles L. Waterhouse and his sons Moses Sargent Waterhouse and Lewis Osbourne Waterhouse establish the company in Webster, Massachusetts, as a custom coachbuilder.

• Expansion into marine and furniture manufacturing

  [1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Following the closure of coachbuilding, the company makes small boats, supplies marine ordnance during the Second World War, and produces furniture after the war.

A family-run American coachbuilder serving the luxury and prestige automobile market with high-quality custom bodies for manufacturer-supplied chassis.

• Automotive coachbuilding · 1928

  Custom automobile bodies

  Waterhouse's principal historical product was the hand-built custom automobile body. The company designed and constructed bodies for chassis supplied by established manufacturers rather than developing a standardized mass-market car of its own. Documented chassis marques include Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Lincoln, Du Pont, Chrysler, Marmon, and Stutz. The work targeted customers and manufacturers seeking distinctive luxury, prestige, or specialty vehicles.

• Automotive coachbuilding · 1929

  Packard Paris Salon body

  This custom body was commissioned by Packard's export department for a car to be exhibited at the 1929 Paris Salon. Waterhouse accepted the assignment on short notice when other coachbuilders reportedly declined it. The completed design impressed Packard's president and led to orders for duplicate bodies, making it the company's best-documented commission.

• Marine manufacturing · 1933

  Small boats

  After closing its automobile coachbuilding section in 1933, Waterhouse continued manufacturing small boats. The available reference confirms this activity but does not identify specific boat types, models, production volumes, or dates of discontinuation.

• Defense manufacturing

  Marine ordnance

  During the Second World War, Waterhouse supplied marine ordnance. The available source does not provide details about the contracts, equipment, customers, or production scale.

• Furniture manufacturing

  Furniture

  Waterhouse produced furniture after the Second World War as part of its post-coachbuilding manufacturing activities. Specific furniture lines, designs, and production dates are not identified in the available reference.

• 1933

  Ending automobile coachbuildingStrategy

  Background

  Waterhouse's custom automobile-body operation had been active for only several years.

  Action taken

  The company closed its coachbuilding section and continued with small boats and other manufacturing activities.

  Aftermath

  Waterhouse's later documented work included marine ordnance during the Second World War and furniture production after the war.

  Source

• 1929

  Accepting the Packard Paris Salon commissionProduct launch

  Background

  Packard's export department needed a car for the Paris Salon on very short notice, and other coachbuilders reportedly declined the assignment.

  Action taken

  Waterhouse accepted the commission and built the custom body for the exhibition car.

  Aftermath

  The body attracted Packard's president and resulted in orders for duplicate bodies.

  Source

• 1933

  Waterhouse closes its coachbuilding section[1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company's automobile coachbuilding section closed, ending its documented production of custom car bodies. Waterhouse subsequently continued with other manufacturing activities.

• 1929

  Waterhouse receives Packard Paris Salon commission[1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  Packard's export department commissioned Waterhouse to build a car for exhibition at the Paris Salon. The short-notice project was accepted after other coachbuilders declined, and the resulting body led to orders for duplicate examples.

• Waterhouse shifts into boats and wartime marine work[1]Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After coachbuilding ended, Waterhouse made small boats and supplied marine ordnance during the Second World War.

1. 1Waterhouse Companyen.wikipedia.org