Forty-One Ships Built on Puget Sound in a Depression Year
Only two oceangoing vessels left the yards in 1894, but smaller launches and schooners kept the Sound's shipwrights working through hard times.
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.
Port Townsend, Dec. 11.—Special.—For the year ending November 30, there were forty-one vessels built on Puget Sound, the majority of which were small craft for use on Puget Sound. Only two vessels for ocean service were constructed, which is attributable to shipping depression. Considering the status of commercial affairs in the Northwest this year, it is indeed surprising that there were not fewer vessels built. Following is a tabular statement: [table omitted].
“Considering the status of commercial affairs in the Northwest this year, it is indeed surprising that there were not fewer vessels built.”
Shipbuilding was a cyclical, vulnerable industry here long before Boeing or the container terminals. The 1894 count shows how a depression year could still produce dozens of small craft for local waters while ocean-going orders dried up.
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