George F. Rodgers Shipbuilding Company

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The George F. Rodgers Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilder located in Astoria, Oregon.

History[edit]

The shipyard was incorporated on August 6, 1917 by George F. Rodgers (former mayor of Salem, Oregon), C.A. Koppison, and L.E. Rolfe who took a five year lease out on a dock in Astoria, Oregon.[1] The shipyard was located on 7.5 acres at the mouth of the Columbia River between the Port of Astoria to the northeast and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway to the south.[2] It included 4 berths of 300 feet in length with launching ways extending 210 feet, a blacksmith shop, sawmill, and joiner shop.[2] In August 1917, due to a shortage of merchant shipping during World War I, the shipyard was awarded a contract to build four 3,500-ton Design 1001 cargo ships by the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFT).[3] The ships were often referred as "Ferris"-type due to their design by naval architect Theodore E. Ferris. The facility was operating on October 1, 1917 and the first keel was laid later in the month.[2][4] The SS Blue Eagle was completed in 1918 followed by the SS Capines, SS Wohnabe, and SS Munra in 1919.[3][5] The shipyard was awarded contracts to build 4 more Design 1001 ships at a bid of $300,000 per ship.[6] Construction commenced on two hulls (Granon, Crantor) before the EFT cancelled the contracts due to the end of World War I.[3] The unfinished hulls became the subject of litigation after the Port of Astoria bought out the remainder of the lease to the Rodgers shipyard in order to build a multi-million dollar import-export pier.[7] In January 1920, the company agreed to purchase all the remaining unfinished hulls (34 in total) commissioned by the EFC in the United States for $170,000.[8][9] The company subsequently arranged a deal with the EFT to take over the Seattle shipyard of Skinner & Eddy which was ceasing operations but withdrew from the agreement in May 1920.[10] In September 1924, Rodgers was killed in a plane crash at the Oregon State Fair and the company was dissolved.[11]

Ships Built by the George F. Rodgers Shipbuilding Company in Astoria, Oregon
Image Hull Ship Name Design O/N Number Owner Type Gross Tonnage Delivery Date Disposition
S.S. Blue Eagle 1001 217181 US Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,559 1918 sold to Western Marine & Salvage Company, September 1922; broken up 1924/1925 at their Portland, Oregon yard
S.S. Capines 1001 217747 US Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,559 1919 sold to Western Marine & Salvage Company, September 1922; broken up 1924/1925 at their Portland, Oregon yard
S.S. Wohnabe 1001 218366 US Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,559 1919 Burnt October 1920 in the Thames River (UK)[12]
S.S. Munra 1001 218367 US Shipping Board Cargo Ship 2,559 1919 sold to Western Marine & Salvage Company, September 1922; broken up 1924/1925 at their Portland, Oregon yard

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ship Company Forms". The Oregon Daily Journal. August 7, 1917.
  2. ^ a b c "George F. Rodgers & Company". Pacific Marine Review. 15: 142–143. November 1918.
  3. ^ a b c McKellar, Norman L. "American Wooden Shipbuilding in World War One, Part II" (PDF). American Wooden Shipbuilding in World War One, 1917-1921. ShipScribe. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Contracts for Wooden Ships - Thirty-Three More Cargo Vessels To Be Built". The Grand Island Daily Independent. August 19, 1918 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Colton, Tim (August 25, 2021). "Emergency Shipbuilders of World War I - Builders of Wooden Ships and Barges". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Who has the Ship Contracts". The Architect & Engineer of California and the Pacific Coast: 123–124. March 1918.
  7. ^ "Unfinished Hulls Hold Up Work On New Astoria Pier". San Pedro News-Pilot. August 12, 1919 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Unfinished Steamboat Hulls Bought By G.F. Rogers". The Nautical Gazette: 175. January 31, 1920.
  9. ^ "Astoria Man Buys Unfinished Wooden Hulls". San Pedro News-Pilot. January 21, 1920 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Washington State News Of Interest, p.6" (PDF). Vashon Island News-Record. May 20, 1920.
  11. ^ "Field v. Rodgers". Casetext.com. March 19, 1929.
  12. ^ "Coast News Notes - Portland". The San Francisco Examiner. October 9, 1920 – via Newspapers.com. The wooden steamer Wohnabe, built at the Rodgers yard in Astoria, was destroyed by fire in the Thames....
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