Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company
Encyclopedia
The Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company operated at Port Arthur
, Ontario
, now part of Thunder Bay
, on Lake Superior
from its organization in October 1909 until its reorganization in November 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company. It was probably a subsidiary of the Cleveland-based American Ship Building Company
until entrepreneur James Whalen
took control in 1916. Whalen was president from 1909–1916.
Its dry dock and shops were located at Bare Point at the extreme eastern end of the Thunder Bay harbour. They were constructed in 1910. The first launching of a vessel was June 27, 1911, a scow or barge for the Great Lakes Dredging Company.
During the First World War, the company also produced shells and munitions for the Imperial Munitions Board
. It also built Big Bull tractors in 1915.
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, now part of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, on Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
from its organization in October 1909 until its reorganization in November 1916 as the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company. It was probably a subsidiary of the Cleveland-based American Ship Building Company
American Ship Building Company
The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898...
until entrepreneur James Whalen
James Whalen (Canadian businessman)
James Whalen was a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur based in Port Arthur, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario, with interests in the forest industries, shipbuilding, dredging, and towing. From a modest beginning as a timber contractor in the 1890s, he built an impressive business empire...
took control in 1916. Whalen was president from 1909–1916.
Its dry dock and shops were located at Bare Point at the extreme eastern end of the Thunder Bay harbour. They were constructed in 1910. The first launching of a vessel was June 27, 1911, a scow or barge for the Great Lakes Dredging Company.
During the First World War, the company also produced shells and munitions for the Imperial Munitions Board
Imperial Munitions Board
The Imperial Munitions Board was a national agency, set up in Canada under the chairmanship of Joseph Wesley Flavelle by the British War Cabinet to alleviate the Shell Crisis of 1915 during the First World War...
. It also built Big Bull tractors in 1915.
Ships built by the company
- Hamiltonian (steel package freighter, 1912)
- Calgarian (package freighter, 1913)
- Noronic (passenger steamer, 1913)
- Nasookin (passenger steamer, 1913)
- Sicamous (passenger steamer, 1914)
- W. Grant Morden (lake bulk carrier, 1914)
- Blaamyra (ocean freighter, 1916)
- Thorjerd (ocean freighter, 1916)
External links
- Nextlibrary features historic photographs of Northwestern Ontario, including the Western Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company.
- List of Western Dry Dock ship plans.