Ships and shipping of Washington's past
Local // Seattle History
DANIEL DEMAY
May 6, 2016 Updated: Oct. 12, 2020 11:56 a.m.
Courtesy MOHAI
"In 1904, the Moran Brothers shipyard in Seattle launched the battleship "Nebraska." This vessel was the first steel ship to be built on Puget Sound and the first naval battleship to be built in the Pacific Northwest. At the launching, bands played, people cheered, dignitaries made speeches, and the daughter of the Governor of Nebraska christened the vessel with a bottle of champagne. This October 7, 1904 photo shows the launching of the battleship "Nebraska" at the Moran Brothers Company shipyard in Seattle. The vessel's interior and superstructure were completed after the launching." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, Seattle Historical Society Collection, image number shs2042.
"British brewery owner A.E. Guinness brought his schooner "Fantome" to Seattle in 1939. The 257-foot vessel was the world's largest private yacht, and its four masts barely made it under the Aurora Bridge on the way to Lake Union. Guinness intended to make only a short visit, but the outbreak of World War II in 1939 changed his plans. This photo shows the schooner "Fantome" in Lake Union in May 1948. The vessel was a familiar sight on Portage Bay and Lake Union from 1939 until the early 1950s. In 1998, after decades as a private yacht and cruise ship, the "Fantome" sank off Honduras in a hurricane." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, Seattle P-I Collection, image number PI25984.
"Before the introduction of steam engines to pull up anchors or move heavy weights, sailors had to use muscle power. Stout levers were placed in the holes of a capstan, and the men pushed on the levers to turn the capstan. The turning of the capstan wound up the anchor chain. This photo shows a group of men lifting an anchor with a capstan. It was taken in somewhere in the northern Pacific Ocean, probably around 1900. The age of sail was ending by this time." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, Seattle Historical Society Collection, image number shs1444.
"Robert Moran was born in New York City and came to Seattle in 1875. After working on ships for a number of years, he and his brothers opened a marine repair shop at Yesler's Wharf in 1882. Over the years, Moran Brothers Company gained an excellent reputation for repairing and building ships. Among other vessels, the company built Yukon River steamboats for the gold rush and and the battleship "Nebraska" for the U.S. Navy. This 1903 photo shows William and Annie Moran (center left and right), with William's mother, Melissa on the right, at Moran Brothers shipyard. The other woman may be Nellie Crow, William's adopted sister. -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, Robert Moran photo, Moran Collection, image number 2000.87.18B.2.
"In the 19th and early 20th centuries, sailing ships carried lumber from the northwest to ports all over the world. Moving in and out of ports in Puget Sound could be tricky for these large vessels. They often depended on tugboats to tow them. In this photo, taken in 1906 by Webster & Stevens photographer Homer Davidson, the lumber freighter Ganges is being towed by two tugboats. The vessel was headed to pick up a load of lumber at Port Blakely. Its crew then signed on at Port Townsend, and the ship sailed to Callao, Peru to deliver the lumber. The home port of the Ganges was Tvedestrand, Norway." -MOHAI. Photo courtesy MOHAI, PEMCO Webster and Stevens Collection, image number 1983.10.PA7.26.