George Anson Meigs
Encyclopedia
George Anson Meigs was a prominent entrepreneur
, businessman and shipbuilder in Washington Territory
.
He was the eighth child of Whiting Meigs and Charlotte (Grennell) Meigs. He received his common school education there and then ventured to Newark
, New Jersey
, Brooklyn, New York
, Key West
, Florida
, Memphis
, Tennessee
and New Orleans
, Louisiana
. He ultimately went to California
during the gold rush
of 1849, where he opened a lumber business in San Francisco.
In 1854, Meigs purchased a lumber mill from J.J. Felt who had moved it from Appletree Cove
, near the present city of Kingston, Washington
to a new location at Port Madison
, on Bainbridge Island
.
Port Madison was founded by Meigs. Meigs enlarged and improved the mill and spent most of his time there, leaving the lumber yard
in San Francisco to William H. Gawley. By 1858, Meigs had developed a capacity at the mill of 15,000 board feet (35 m³) per day and it soon ranked with the principal lumber
producing plants on Puget Sound
. In addition to the lumber mill, Meigs established a dairy farm near the middle of Bainbridge Island
.
In 1858, Meigs married Mary Elizabeth Tappan, daughter of Charles Ogden Tappan, in Boston, Massachusetts
. The couple had two children, Lillie Charlotte Meigs (1859–1927) and George Elroy Meigs (1861–1870).
Meigs later built the first brass and iron foundry
in Washington Territory
and a shipyard
.
From his shipyard
came the first full-rigged sailing ship
ever built on the Pacific Coast, the Wildwood. Although there was an abundant supply of timber
on the coast, the Pacific ship building industry had been held back by the fact that Douglas fir, the principal timber
source, was found to decay rapidly. Not until it was discovered that Douglas fir was durable if cut in the winter, seasoned and salted was any attempt made to construct ships of it. The Wildwood, at 1099 tons, was the first.
Meigs assisted in the construction of the University of Washington
and served as one of its regents during the early 1860s.
On February 18, 1861, a boiler explosion made a wreck of Meigs' Puget Sound
mill. Five men were killed, and the cost of rebuilding just about broke Meigs. In 1864, the mill burned once more and the loss was put at $100,000. Again, Meigs rebuilt and enlarged the mill's capacity. During the first six months of 1870, running day and night, the mill cut and shipped 11,872,000 board feet (28,000 m³) of lumber. Meigs' fleet of ships had also expanded to 45,000 tons, including the Northern and Tidal Wave.
Meigs weathered business depressions and other problems, including his partner's, William H. Gawley's, speculation with funds taken from the company. Finally, by 1881, financial and legal difficulties could not be overcome and the mill complex on Bainbridge Island
was sold at a sheriff's auction
. Meigs spent the last years of life on his property at Port Madison
.
On March 3, 1897, Meigs had gone to testify in a libel action in Seattle
, Washington.
On his way back to the ship, which was to leave that night for Port Madison
, Meigs disappeared.
His body was found the next morning on the deck of a freighter. The coroner's jury held that Meigs had gotten lost in the dark and his death was accidental.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, businessman and shipbuilder in Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
.
He was the eighth child of Whiting Meigs and Charlotte (Grennell) Meigs. He received his common school education there and then ventured to Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Brooklyn, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Key West
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He ultimately went to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
during the gold rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
of 1849, where he opened a lumber business in San Francisco.
In 1854, Meigs purchased a lumber mill from J.J. Felt who had moved it from Appletree Cove
Appletree Cove
Appletree Cove is a bay and estuary on the Kitsap Peninsula. The cove is fed by Carpenter Creek; its estuary is a tidal flood zone that fills and empties at high and low tides....
, near the present city of Kingston, Washington
Kingston, Washington
-External links:* *...
to a new location at Port Madison
Port Madison
Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, and on the south by Bainbridge Island. Port Madison connects to Port Orchard via the Agate Pass...
, on Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, and the name of the island in Puget Sound on which the city is situated...
.
Port Madison was founded by Meigs. Meigs enlarged and improved the mill and spent most of his time there, leaving the lumber yard
Lumber yard
A lumber yard is a retail location for lumber and wood related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects. Lumber yards can also provide services such as the use of a planer and other large machines....
in San Francisco to William H. Gawley. By 1858, Meigs had developed a capacity at the mill of 15,000 board feet (35 m³) per day and it soon ranked with the principal lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
producing plants on Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. In addition to the lumber mill, Meigs established a dairy farm near the middle of Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, and the name of the island in Puget Sound on which the city is situated...
.
In 1858, Meigs married Mary Elizabeth Tappan, daughter of Charles Ogden Tappan, in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The couple had two children, Lillie Charlotte Meigs (1859–1927) and George Elroy Meigs (1861–1870).
Meigs later built the first brass and iron foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
in Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and a shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
.
From his shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
came the first full-rigged sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
ever built on the Pacific Coast, the Wildwood. Although there was an abundant supply of timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
on the coast, the Pacific ship building industry had been held back by the fact that Douglas fir, the principal timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
source, was found to decay rapidly. Not until it was discovered that Douglas fir was durable if cut in the winter, seasoned and salted was any attempt made to construct ships of it. The Wildwood, at 1099 tons, was the first.
Meigs assisted in the construction of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
and served as one of its regents during the early 1860s.
On February 18, 1861, a boiler explosion made a wreck of Meigs' Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
mill. Five men were killed, and the cost of rebuilding just about broke Meigs. In 1864, the mill burned once more and the loss was put at $100,000. Again, Meigs rebuilt and enlarged the mill's capacity. During the first six months of 1870, running day and night, the mill cut and shipped 11,872,000 board feet (28,000 m³) of lumber. Meigs' fleet of ships had also expanded to 45,000 tons, including the Northern and Tidal Wave.
Meigs weathered business depressions and other problems, including his partner's, William H. Gawley's, speculation with funds taken from the company. Finally, by 1881, financial and legal difficulties could not be overcome and the mill complex on Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Bainbridge Island is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, and the name of the island in Puget Sound on which the city is situated...
was sold at a sheriff's auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
. Meigs spent the last years of life on his property at Port Madison
Port Madison
Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, and on the south by Bainbridge Island. Port Madison connects to Port Orchard via the Agate Pass...
.
On March 3, 1897, Meigs had gone to testify in a libel action in Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington.
On his way back to the ship, which was to leave that night for Port Madison
Port Madison
Port Madison, sometimes called Port Madison Bay, is a deep water bay located on the west shore of Puget Sound in western Washington. It is bounded on the north by Indianola, on the west by Suquamish, and on the south by Bainbridge Island. Port Madison connects to Port Orchard via the Agate Pass...
, Meigs disappeared.
His body was found the next morning on the deck of a freighter. The coroner's jury held that Meigs had gotten lost in the dark and his death was accidental.