The Seattle Construction and Drydock Company was a

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

company based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Between 1911 and 1918, it produced a substantial number of ships for both commercial and military uses. In the beginning of the 20th century, until its significance was diluted by the emergence of a number of shipyards during the World War I shipbuilding boom, it was the largest of its kind in Seattle and one of the few significant ship yards along the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

, second only to the

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

in San Francisco.

History

Formally established in 1911, the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

could trace its history back to 1882, when the Moran brothers operated a machine shop at Yesler's Wharf () in the lower story of a new sawmill employing 8 to 10 men, built by John Anderson and owned by Anderson and

Henry Yesler Henry Leiter Yesler (December 2, 1810 – December 16, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and a politician, regarded as a founder of the city of Seattle. Yesler served two non-consecutive terms as Mayor of Seattle, and was the city's wealthiest ...

, who is often regarded as the founder of the city of Seattle. At the end of the year 1882 they were constructing their own 24 by 40 feet two-story machine shop next to the Yesler mill. In 1884 Moran Brothers built the machinery for William Moore's steamship ''Teaser''. The Seattle Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company was established in 1888, with Bailey Gatzert as president, Robert Moran as vice president and $75,000 in capital. It was located at the foot of Charles Street (, all subsequent extensions of the yard were from foot of Charles street southward). Machinery was bought in New York during a visit by Robert Moran in the spring and arrived late in 1888. Work on the dry dock was expected to be complete by April 1889. Robert Moran was elected mayor of Seattle on 9 July 1888 and while his shop became a victim of the

Great Seattle Fire The Great Seattle Fire was a fire that destroyed the entire central business district of Seattle, Washington, on June 6, 1889. The conflagration lasted for less than a day, burning through the afternoon and into the night, during the same summer ...

of 6 June 1889, the business continued to expand and became the Moran Brothers Shipyard. The Moran Brothers Co. was incorporated 19 December 1889 with a capital stock of $250,000 and no stock held outside the company. A newly built foundry on Charles street was employing 70 men in February 1890 (detailed description of the new plant:). In 1902 there was a bonded debt of $500,000 first mortgage, 5% interest maturing from 1906 to 1912 and a stock of $1,000,000. On February 27, 1906, the Moran family left the business, the yard was sold for $2,000,000 to Bertron, Storrs and Griscom of New York, who also gained the right to the company name and the yard now operated as The Moran Company and was bought by (unknown) on 30 December 1911 and became the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company. J. V. Patterson was president of both companies during the 1906 to 1916 period. A second mortgage ($1,000,000 10 year 6% bonds dated 1 January 1912) was taken and a new 10,000 ton dry dock planned. Naval constructor Holden A. Evans (also a book author) resigned from the navy to become new vice president of the company. In July 1916, William H. Todd made one of the first acquisitions for

Todd Shipyards Todd or Todds may refer to: Places Australia * Todd River, an ephemeral river United States * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated c ...

that would become a national enterprise, later on by buying Seattle Construction and Drydock. Todd's business at that time consisted of

Robins Dry Dock and Repair Company Erie Basin dry dock (est. 1866) was a graving dock facility located at Erie Basin, Brooklyn, Erie Basin, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City. There were at least two docks built, although only one remained into the 21st century. The dock con ...

at Eire Basin in

Red Hook, Brooklyn Red Hook is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City, United States, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. It is located on a peninsula projecting into the Upper New York Bay and is bounded by the Gowanus Expressway and the Ca ...

, and in

Weehawken Cove Weehawken Cove is a cove on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River between the New Jersey municipalities of Hoboken, New Jersey, Hoboken to the south and Weehawken, New Jersey, Weehawken to the north. At the perimeter of ...

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

. Planned modernizations in 1916 included the addition of 2 slipways to the existing 3 and a new 15,000 ton dry dock to augment the 3 in operation (the dry dock apparently was not actually built). At the same time,

Skinner & Eddy The Skinner & Eddy Corporation, commonly known as Skinner & Eddy, was a Seattle, Washington-based shipbuilding corporation that existed from 1916 to 1923. The yard is notable for completing more ships for the United States war effort during World ...

became a major shipbuilder in Seattle, their facilities built from the ground up starting in February 1916 directly adjacent to the Seattle Construction yard. In 1918 Todd moved to the north end of

Harbor Island Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, United States, where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, it was completed in 1909 and was then th ...

to open a repair dock and Skinner & Eddy took control of both yards on the waterfront. The transfer took place on 11 May 1918, the price was $4,000,000. Skinner & Eddy were to pay the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

for the yard at a rate of $125,000 per completed ship. The Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company was henceforth called Skinner & Eddy Plant No. 2. Skinner & Eddy invested approx. $1,000,000 to modernize the plant, but defaulted on their payments after having paid $514,441.40 and the EFC repossessed the yard on 22 March 1920. On 21 January 1924 shipways and removable equipment were sold to the Schnitzer and Wolf Machinery Co, of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

for $226,255 and remaining "Balance of property owned" for $600,000 to the Port of Seattle on 31 December 1923. Three buildings remained "to be disposed of". In the 1930s, the area between Dearborn and Connecticut Street was Seattle's largest

Hooverville Hoovervilles were shanty towns built during the Great Depression by the homeless in the United States. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President of the United States during the onset of the Depression and was widely blamed for it. T ...

. Todd's facilities on Harbor Island would then be expanded in the winter of 1940 / 1941 and become the "Seattle" in

Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation The Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation (also operating as Todd Pacific) was an American corporation which built escort carriers, destroyers, cargo ships and auxiliaries for the United States Navy and United States Merchant Marine, merchant ...

. Of the 6 steel shipyards active during that time in Puget Sound, Seattle Construction was the only one that had existed prior to the outbreak of World War I. J. F. Duthie & Company had built small boats before, but underwent a major expansion of its facilities in 1916. The construction of was contracted for on 26 December 1916 and for and on 27 August 1917. All three of the ships were laid down after long delays by the Todd yard in Tacoma. Clarence Bagley, in his ''History of Seattle from the earliest settlement to the present time, Volume 2'', wrote: :. . . The company produced over 90 ships, including a substantial number of battleships and submarines for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy, as well as commercial oceangoing vessels. By 1917, the plant covered about and employed about 1,500 men. In that year, it had six building slips up to long; two drydocks of 12,000 tons capacity each, one drydock of 3,000 tons capacity, and was equipped to take care of repairs of all kinds.Welford Beaton, ''Frank Waterhouse & Company's Pacific ports'' (1917). p. 273. The company formally ceased operations in 1918, due in large part to the poaching of its skilled laborers by newly established competitors.Walter V. Woehlke, ''Union Labor in Peace and War'' (1918), p. 107. It ultimately was acquired by William H. Todd, who operated the company as a subsidiary of the Todd Pacific Shipyards Corporation, which had been founded in 1916 as the William H. Todd Corporation."William H. Todd"
''The Rudder'' (1919), Vol. XXXV, p. 61. It became the "Seattle" in

and operated under that name during World War II as one of the biggest suppliers of escort carriers and destroyers for the United States Navy. Other companies operated by Todd included the

at Erie Basin,

, the Tietjen & Long Dry Dock Company of

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

Notes

References

{{Puget Sound shipyards 1911 establishments in Washington (state) Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States Defunct companies based in Seattle Shipbuilding in Washington (state) Former submarine builders