Shipbuilding Capital of the South
A new stern-wheeler hits the stocks in Aberdeen as the city solidifies its status as a maritime manufacturing hub.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Monday the keel of the stern-wheel steamer being constructed for Captain Thomas S. Tew was laid by T. C. Keed, an experienced ship builder, who built the Bailey Gatzert, the fastest craft on the Sound. The new steamer will be 125 feet long, with 19.6 feet beam. She will be built both for speed and comfort, with a view to securing a good passenger, as well as freight traffic. Aberdeen is recognized as the center of ship building in Southern Washington. With the large number of vessels building and in the prospective, it looks as if her shipyards will be crowded with craft, constructed to enter the ever increasing trade of this portion of the state.
“Aberdeen is recognized as the center of ship building in Southern Washington.”
Aberdeen’s history is inextricably linked to its position on the Chehalis River. In 1891, the city was defining its industrial identity through shipbuilding; today, that legacy of maritime industry and commerce remains a defining feature of the Harbor region.
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