Portland Oregon waterfront sternwheelers fitting out 1898

Willamette Iron Works (also known as Willamette Iron and Steel Company or WISCO) was a general

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and machine business established in 1865 in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, originally specializing in the manufacture of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

boilers and engines. In 1904, the company changed its name to Willamette Iron and Steel Works, under which name it operated continually until its close in 1990.

Willamette Iron and Steel Works Scotch Boiler Ad 1918

The works was very busy during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

shipbuilding boom, building boilers for

Northwest Steel Northwest Steel was a small shipyard in Portland, Oregon. Little is known of its background or owners, but during World War I the yard built cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Some 37 of the 46 ships ship built at Northwest S ...

and

Albina Engine & Machine Works Albina Engine & Machine Works was a shipyard along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was located in the Albina area of Portland along N. River Street and N. Loring Street. Albina Engine & Machine Works was founded in 190 ...

in Portland,

G. M. Standifer Construction The G. M. Standifer Construction Company was an American company that built three shipyards on the Columbia River for the World War I effort, one in Oregon and two in Washington (state), Washington, all within spitting distance of each other. After ...

in Vancouver,

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

, Schaw-Batcher and the

Moore Dry Dock Company Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. In 1905, Robert S. Moore, his brother Joseph A. Moore, and John Thomas Scott purchased the National Iron Works located in the Hunter's Point section o ...

in San Francisco,

Southwestern Shipbuilding Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro was a major shipbuilding company on Terminal Island in San Pedro, California owned by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. To support the World War 2 demand for ships Bethlehem Shipbuilding San Pedro built: US Nav ...

and the

Long Beach Shipbuilding Company '' Light Vessel No.57'' at Toledo, Ohio Craig Shipbuilding was a shipbuilding company in Long Beach, California. To support the World War I demand for ships Craig Shipbuilding shipyard switched over to military construction and built: US N ...

in Los Angeles,

Skinner & Eddy The Skinner & Eddy Corporation, commonly known as Skinner & Eddy, was a Seattle, Washington-based shipbuilding corporation that existed from 1916 to 1923. The yard is notable for completing more ships for the United States war effort during Worl ...

, J. F. Duthie and

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Oklah ...

in Seattle and Todd Construction in Tacoma, as well as completely fitting out ships launched by

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Willamette Iron & Steel was itself in the shipbuilding business: small naval

auxiliaries Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

s, and non-self-propelled

lighters A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or ...

. These were built through WISCO's relationship with

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

. The company built more than 70 ships during World War II, but they were smaller than those built by the three nearby

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The s ...

. The ships were built on contract to the US and British governments. Between the wars, the shipyard concentrated on building small commercial vessels. During the 1920s, the company manufactured a geared steam

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

known as the "Willamette", a Shay-type locomotive for use in logging operations in Washington and Oregon. Between 1901 and 1931 Willamette built over 2500

steam donkey A steam donkey or donkey engine is a steam engine, steam-powered winch once widely used in logging, mining, Shipping industry, maritime, and other industrial applications. Steam powered donkeys were commonly found on large metal-hulled multi-m ...

s for use in the logging industry. During World War II Willamette assembled over 800 Russian gauge Baldwin steam locomotives and shipped them to Vladivostok. NW Front Ave. in Portland had a short distance of Russian gauge track for the engines to move from the engine house on the west side of Front to the loading dock on the east side of the street. These were shipped across the Pacific on USSR flagged ships, since the USSR and the Empire of Japan were not at war. A Porter 0-6-0 was bought from the US Government in Panama to switch the broad gauge track. In the early 1970s, the company manufactured the first three turbine units for the third powerhouse to be built at

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...

. The company also made fire hydrants for the city of Portland in the late 19th century. In 1945, after World War II ended, Willamette Iron and Steel continued as mostly a ship repair facility. Over the years, business dropped as larger shipyards grew, and Willamette finally closed in 1990.

World War II Ships

* 2 of 2 ''Catskill''-class landing ships: , * 23 of 123 s ** ... ** , , ** ... * 14 of 68 s ** PCE-891 ... PCE-904 * 9 lighters: YFN-743 ... YFN-751 * 6 barracks barges: APL-41 ... APL-46 * 8 to 10 of 45 s (completion of Todd Tacoma hull) ** http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/toddtacoma.htm (disagrees:http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/small/willamette.htm) ** (disagrees:) ** (AVG-22) ** (AVG-24) ** , , ** , , * 1 of 19 s (completion of Todd Tacoma hull) ** * 3 of 30 s (conversion of

hull) ** , , * references:

Notes

References

{{Authority control Defunct companies based in Oregon Companies established in 1865 Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United States History of transportation in Oregon Defunct locomotive manufacturers of the United States Ironworks and steel mills in the United States Manufacturing companies based in Portland, Oregon Shipbuilding companies of Oregon 1865 establishments in Oregon 1990 disestablishments in Oregon American companies established in 1865