opened at the corner of Water and Congress Streets in Boston Massachusetts. The company began as a manufacturer of brass goods for the marine industry. Fletcher retired from the firm. Andrew Morse began making diving helmets and air pumps. In 1864 the company name was changed to Andrew J. Morse & Son. Near by in Boston Alfred Hale, manufactured his own dive hats using Morse parts during this time.
Morse died in 1881 his son William F. Morse took over. The company expanded into manufacturing valves, fittings, nozzles, and water cannons for firefighting. In 1905 William Morse retired and management of the company was given to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Mark A. Lawton. They incorporated the company and Inc. was added - Andrew J. Morse & Son Inc. The 1910 Morse catalog lists 221 High Street as the company address. In 1916 Morse and the A Schrader's Son company began manufacture of the US Navy Mark V Diving Helmet. The company was sold in 1939 to William Farrell (owner of McKee Pile Diving Company), who continued to operate it in Boston, incorporated as the Morse Diving Equipment Company in 1940. In 1970 they moved the operation to Hingham Street in Rockland, MA, 20 miles south of Boston. Ken Downey was hired by the company in 1978 as a machinist. In 1985 the US Navy decommissioned the Mark V Diving Helmet. Morse Diving Equipment manufactured its replacement, the Mark XII Surface Supplied Diving System for the Navy. In 1993 the Mark XII was superseded by the Mark 21 Diving Helmet. Morse continued to manufacture the Mark XII as a commercial diving helmet. Ken Downey and his wife Donna purchased the company in 1998. In 2014 Morse was sold to Mr. Watson Roby Holland and shortly there after the company suspended manufacturing operations. Mr. Holland contacted DESCO Corporation to explore having DESCO construct helmets for Morse as the ability of the firm to produce helmets had deteriorated. After careful consideration Mr. Holland determined operation of the company was no longer viable. Morse Diving Incorporated declared bankruptcy in 2015. DESCO Corporation purchased the assets of Morse Diving in January of 2016. DESCO manufactures Morse diving helmets under the A. Morse & Son name. The assets of the company were in poor condition and much work was done to allow construction of new helmets. AJMS helmets are constructed using castings made from original or newly replaced Morse patterns. DESCO is committed to offering authentic A J Morse & Son diving helmets. At the time of its bankruptcy Morse Diving was the 412th oldest business in the United States that was in continuous operation.
