Moran Brother’s Shipyard and T he Port of Seattle By Sophia Pekkanen

THE EARLY PORT The Early port had many steps to becoming a great trading center. A while after the Denny Party settled, a ship came seeking pilings for building San Francisco. Seattle’s men contracted to supply the timber and earned needed capitol. Realizing a deep-watered harbor was needed if ships were to be loaded, Arthur Denny, Carson Boren, and William Bell had a plan. That winter they sounded Elliot Bay with a clothesline weighed with horseshoes. The eastern shores of the bay provided an ideal site for the city they hoped would take root.

The Gold Rush The gold rush was also important for the port. In response to the Klondike gold rush the Moran Brothers built 12 steamers to carry people and supplies on the Yukon River. On July, 17,1897 the steamer Portland docked in Seattle’s harbor carrying 68 men and $1 million in gold dust and nuggets from the Yukon.

More about the early port The Port of Seattle needed to grow by changing from private owners to public In 1911, the voters of King County agreed to a formation of a port of Seattle commission thereby, providing public control of the waterfront and public money for improvements. In 1911 the port of Seattle was established as a publicly-owned district on Elliot Bay. Seattle’s port business boomed and local newspapers celebrated the city as the Queen city of the Pacific. In early days “mosquito fleet” those little crafts that scooted around the Sound with passengers and cargo made it possible for Seattle to play the role of major supplier of services and merchandise.

The Moran Brothers Robert Moran came to Seattle in1875 with his brothers Frank and Sherman. They established the Moran Brothers Company a shipbuilding and marine engineering company. They did this because Robert’s Seattle shop burned down. They prospered during the Klondike and Alaska Gold Rushes and went on to become 1 of Seattle’s largest shipyards. On October 7, 1904, the battleship Nebraska was launched from Moran Brother’s shipyard in Seattle. Its the only battleship built in Washington. 55,000 people attended including 40,000 along the wharves and shoreline and 15,000 in boats across Elliot Bay.

The Developing Port Trading with Asia was important for the Port of Seattle On December 31, 1901 following a period of building on the growing trade for Asia, the chamber of commerce reports, “Instead of the old irregular of wharfs and bunkers there is now a complete chain of piers and constructed along similar lines and in general conformity they represent a period of the city.” The Northern Pacific Railroads and the Pacific Coast Company made 18 piers and warehouses during In 1928 raw silk accounted for almost half the imports arriving in Seattle. Cargo ships loaded with the costly merchandise would arrive from Japan and be loaded onto special high-speed silk trains to be rushed to the East Coast for processing. The silk trains had sealed doors and armed guards and set speed records as they raced to their destination.

The Port now Today Seattle’s old waterfront seldom sees a ship they all anchor out toward Harbor Island but the colorful old docks are busy places such as house restaurants, stores, the ferry terminal and recreational sites such as the Aquarium.

bibliography HistoryLink.org- the Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. Web. 07 June Sundquist, Mark. Seattle. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., Print. Warren, James R., and William R. McCoy. Highlights of Seattle's History. Seattle, Wash.: Historical Society of Seattle and King County, Print. MOHAI museum of history and industry