Ballard’s Industrial Boom
New shingle mills and foundries are expected to bring 1,000 jobs to the waterfront in a surge of local manufacturing growth.
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.
Three new shingle mills will be built in Ballard during the next three months. Ground was broken yesterday for a mill on the old Porter-Gage site, to be owned by a group of young Seattle businessmen. Other mills, including those by E.E. Overton and a syndicate represented by Thomas R. Fleming, are also under construction. Additionally, the West Coast Iron Works Company has completed its new foundry building at the corner of Railroad Avenue and D Street. It is estimated that these new industries will employ 1,000 men in Ballard this coming spring and summer.
“It is estimated that these industries will employ 1,000 more men in Ballard this spring and summer.”
This 1893 boom highlights Ballard’s origins as a powerhouse of the timber industry, a role that defined the neighborhood for decades before its modern gentrification into a hub for tech and hospitality. The rapid shift from old mill sites to new foundations illustrates the volatile, high-growth nature of early Seattle development.
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