Heffernan Engine Works and its sister company, Heffernan Dry Dock Company, was a prominent ship repair and construction business in Seattle, Washington during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The business operated two major shipyards at various times and worked on hundreds of ships.

Organizational history

Heffernan Engine Works (18991925) As early as 1892, John T. Heffernan had a small marine repair and construction business in Port Townsend, Washington called Puget Sound Engineering Works. This business built USRC Scout and USRC Guard, both of which were launched in 1896, and the original steam engine for the tug Prosper. In 1899, at 33 years old, Heffernan moved to Seattle and established a similar marine repair and construction business, Heffernan Engine Works. His machine shop was located at 108 Railroad Avenue. The original wood-frame structure was replaced by a brick building in 1918 which still stands at what is now 110 Alaskan Way in the Pioneer Square area.

The company's products included marine steam engines, pumps, boilers, windlasses, winches, and related installation and repair services. Heffernan Engine Works began as a sole proprietorship. It became a Washington State corporation on 17 July 1903 with a capitalization of $50,000.

Heffernan Engine Works remained in continuous operation through at least 1927.

East Waterway shipyard (19041913)

In 1904, Heffernan Engine Works bought most of block 375 of Seattle tidelands at the junction of the East Waterway and the Canal Waterway for $28,500. It bought the remainder of the block for $12,000 in 1905. The company had the marshy area filled, and built workshops and docks. With of waterway frontage, Heffernan could berth multiple ships. In 1910, Heffernan bought the adjacent block 386, which also fronted the East Waterway, for $375,000. This land became the site of Heffernan's first shipyard.

In April 1907, the Heffernan Dry Dock Company was incorporated with a capitalization of $250,000. That same month, the new company purchased one of the largest floating drydocks on the west coast, which was then located at Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon Island. The company operated the drydock at Quartermaster Harbor while preparations, including dredging, were made to move it to Heffernan's property on the East Waterway. On 11 August 1909, the dock was towed to its new location. The drydock was long with a beam of and a lifting capacity, variously reported to be up to 7,500 tons.

In August 1910, Heffernan purchased the marine railway of Seattle Ship Yards Company. It was long and wide with a capacity to lift ships up to 4,000 tons. It was towed to the company's property on the East Waterway. With the addition of this facility, by 1912 the Heffernan shipyard grew to 75 employees.

Heffernan sold block 375, and the waterfront halves of blocks 376 and 386 to the Port of Seattle on 5 September 1913 for $440,000 to facilitate the port's plans for a deep-sea dock and cargo handling facility. In conjunction with the land sale, the company sold its drydock and marine railway to Seattle Construction & Drydock Company for a reported $550,000. This sale closed on 27 September 1913. While Heffernan Engine Works remained in operation building and repairing marine machinery, these transactions marked the end of Heffernan's first shipyard.

West Seattle shipyard (19181925) American shipping needs in World War I brought about significant Federal funding for ship construction through the Emergency Fleet Corporation. John Heffernan went back into the shipyard business to take advantage of this opportunity and signed his first contracts with the Emergency Fleet Corporation on 22 May 1918. The company purchased of waterfront land consisting of lots 1 to 15 of block 449 of the Seattle tidelands. A new Heffernan shipyard was built there on Elliot Bay in West Seattle.

On 3 May 1918, the Heffernan Dry Dock Company purchased the floating drydock of the Oregon Drydock Company. It was towed from Portland to Seattle. This dry dock was 340 feet long, with a beam of 80 feet, and a capacity to lift 3,500 tons. The dock was moored at 1650 Harbor Avenue SW at the company's property in West Seattle. The company also installed a marine railway that was 250 feet long and could accommodate vessels up to 2,500 tons. In 1918, Heffernan built a 1-story machine shop that was 84 feet by 160 feet at the new shipyard. By 1919, the company employed 400 workers there.

The Heffernan Engine Works machine shop in Pioneer Square moved to the Heffernan Dry Dock Company shipyard in 1923. The new shop was located at 1722 Harbor Avenue SW.

At the end of World War I, it became apparent that the Emergency Fleet Corporation had contracted for many more ships than were needed for peacetime. The four design 1001 ships for which Heffernan Engine Works built engines in 1918 were broken up in 1922. The worldwide glut reduced the cost of existing ships so much that new shipbuilding activities contracted. John Heffernan, now 60 years old, with significant real estate development, financial, and political interests, chose to close the shipyard in 1925. Heffernan's drydock was sold to Lake Union Dry Dock & Machine Works. Ship repair history Heffernan repaired every type of ship from fishing boats to passenger liners with both wooden and steel hulls. These included U.S. flagged vessels and ships from around the world. They included vessels owned by the U.S Government and private shipping firms. While Heffernan Engine Works focused on boilers, engines, pumps, steering, and other equipment, Heffernan Dry Dock clients required a range of services from simple hull scraping and painting, to the replacement of steel hull plates crushed in grounding incidents. The number of vessels repaired numbered in the hundreds. The table below shows some of the more important: +Notable vessels repaired by HeffernanShipDateRepairUSAT EgbertSeptember 1901USAT DixJanuary 1902Engine and boiler overhaulUSRC RushApril 1903Engine and boiler overhaulUSAT BurnsideDecember 1903Light Vessel 67September 1905Machinery overhaulSpokaneMarch 1907Hull damage from groundingUSAT CrookAugust 1907Senator1908USLHT HeatherJuly 1909Replaced boiler furnacesUSLHT Armeria1910Engine room and crew quarters overhaulNorthwesternDecember 1911Hull damage from groundingVictoriaMarch 1911Hull damage from groundingUSC&GS Carlile P. PattersonDecember 1912USC&GS LydoniaJanuary 1921USC&GS SurveyorJanuary 1921RooseveltFebruary 1923Conversion to tugUSCGC HaidaApril 1922USC&GS DiscovererNovember 1923USAT DellwoodDecember 1923USCGC UnalgaDecember 1923

Shipbuilding history Heffernan Engine Works built engines, boilers, and other machinery for new ships throughout its history. In some cases, Heffernan contracted to deliver entire ships, subcontracting the construction of the hull. In other cases, it acted as a subcontractor, delivering engines to be installed under other companies' contracts. One source wrote that Heffernan Engine Works built engines and machinery for nineteen ships by 1905. +Vessels built by Heffernan Engine WorksShipPhotoOriginal OwnerLaunchedNoteIrene Official # 100777Pacific Tug Company1902Hull built by Crawford & Reid at TacomaJohn McCracken Official # 77571City of Portland, Oregon18 December 1902Hull built by Ballard Dry Dock & Shipbuilding CompanyMajor Evan ThomasUS Army Quartermaster Corps12 July 1904Hull built by the T. C. Reed Shipyard in Ballard.Florence Official # 201353Juneau Ferry & Navigation Company20 September 1904Hull built by the T. C. Reed Shipyard in Ballard. Capsized on launching. +Partial list of vessels whose engines were built by Heffernan Engine WorksShipPhotoOriginal OwnerLaunchedNoteMary C. Official # 93374Henry Cayou1903Hull built by Reid & Cayou at Decatur Island. Double-expansion engine: 12 inch high-pressure, 23 inch low-pressure, with 23 inch stroke.ClallamOfficial #127769Puget Sound Navigation Company15 April 1903Hull built by E. W. Heath at Everett. Double-expansion engine: 17 inch high-pressure, 42 inch low-pressure, with 28 inch stroke. Sank 8 January 1904.JeffersonOfficial # 201073Alaska Steamship Company2 April 1904Hull build by E. W. Heath shipyard. Triple-expansion engine: 20 inch high-pressure, 32 inch intermediate-pressure, 56 inch low-pressure, with 35 inch stroke.AthlonOfficial # 10761015 December 1900Heffernan built a replacement engine in January 1906 for the ship's original engine which suffered a catastrophic failure in December 1905.West SeattleOfficial # 203946West Seattle Land & Improvement Company13 April 1907Hull built by E. W. Heath shipyard.USLHT FernOfficial # 234815U.S. Lighthouse Service6 February 1915Hull built by Hall Brothers Marine Railway & Shipbuilding Company. Triple-expansion engine: 10 inch high-pressure, 17.5 inch intermediate-pressure, 28 inch low-pressure, with 18 inch stroke.BonnafonOfficial # 216847U.S. Shipping Board8 June 1918Hull built by Nilson & Kelez Shipbuilding Company. Triple-expansion engine: 19 inches high-pressure, 32 inches intermediate-pressure, 56 inches low pressure with a stroke of 36 inches.FosterOfficial # 216919U.S. Shipping Board3 July 1918Hull built by Nilson & Kelez Shipbuilding Company.OctoraraOfficial # 217231U.S. Shipping Board22 August 1918Hull built by Nilson & Kelez Shipbuilding Company. Triple-expansion engine: 19 inches high-pressure, 32 inches intermediate-pressure, 56 inches low pressure with a stroke of 36 inches.AdwayOfficial # 217721U.S. Shipping Board30 September 1918Hull built by Nilson & Kelez Shipbuilding Company. Triple-expansion engine: 19 inches high-pressure, 32 inches intermediate-pressure, 56 inches low pressure with a stroke of 36 inches.Virginia V Official # 222170West Pass Transportation Company9 March 1922Triple-expansion engine: 10.5 inches high-pressure, 16.75 inches intermediate pressure, 28.5 inches low-pressure, with 18 inch stroke. This engine was installed in 1904 in the steamer Tyrus, later renamedVirginia IV. It is a twin to the engine installed in Major Evan Thomas. It was installed in Virginia V in 1922 and is the last operational Heffernan Engine Works engine.

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