Our History
A wise man told me once, if you want to know where you're going, you've got to know where you came from...
In 1949, my Grandparents Viola and Donald MacCallum founded MacCallum's Garage in East Northwood, New Hampshire. Working on autos in his filling station he quickly established a reputation for quality service with personal attention. An avid outdoorsman, he soon added a small hunting and fishing supply store, featuring Evinrude outboard engines and various wooden boat manufacturers. In the 50's as demand and the region grew he purchased land and built a new facility on Northwood Lake, in Epsom, NH, the current site of MacCallum's Boathouse today.
In 1967 he was joined by his son, my father Donald MacCallum. Together with the help of many talented people they built the business by maintaining a strong work ethic, and offering a high level of service to each customer. We have sold a variety of brands and products through the years, from fishing and hunting equipment to snowmobiles and camping gear, however, as time passed it was evident that boating was and should be our focus. In 1982 after a successful nursing career (and the full time job of raising two boys), my mother, Sandra MacCallum coupled forces with my father and quickly became the premier "pontoon boat store" in the northeast.
In 1990, Peter MacCallum (that's me), returned to the Boathouse from an engine sales career, began his tenure and worked with his parents, together until 1999. In 2000 ownership and property interests were purchased by Peter, creating the 3rd generation MacCallum to own and manage the dealership. With an incredible group of co-workers, his team has consistently earned nationwide acknowledgment for sales performance and customer service attention. Peter has three children that have all worked within the store during high school and college. We are hopeful that the 4th generation of MacCallum ownership begins within the next decade!
Our current footprint on Northwood Lake includes a 20 acre campus of outdoor boat storage/display space, private boat ramp and fuel docks, private dock slips, 3 large boat storage buildings, an updated modern shop, indoor heated showroom, offices and retail space. Our dealership enjoys the added exposure of being on Route 4/202/9, a major thoroughfare running east/west across New Hampshire. We have over 18,000 vehicles passing our store every day! We currently offer NEW powerboats by Nautique and Four Winns®, pontoons by Harris-Flotebote®, and engines by Mercury Marine®, Mercruiser,Volvo and PCM.
As we enter a new boating season , we continue to learn new ways to improve our service levels to you. Just as we have for the past 7 decades. Even though my Grandparents and Parents are no longer in the store, their ethics and lessons live here every day. Our motto... Better Boats, Better People... celebrating over 70 years of getting, and keeping your family on the water! It's our family passion!