J. F. Duthie & Company facts for kids

West Bridge, one of the "West" boats built at J. F. Duthie & Company, shortly before her completion in May 1918

J. F. Duthie & Company was a small shipyard in Seattle, Washington. It was organized in 1911 and expanded in World War I to build cargo ships for the United States Shipping Board (USSB).

Some 27 of the 37 ships built at J. F. Duthie were the "West boats," a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built for the USSB on the West Coast of the United States as part of the World War I war effort.

After the war, Wallace F. Duthie, the son of the founder J. F. Duthie, organized the dismantling of the shipbuilding facilities. Wallace died in 1922 at age 23.

In 1928 the company's name was changed to Wallace Bridge Company. It built structural steel for local projects, including the Washington Athletic Club building in 1930.

Notable ships built at J. F. Duthie & Company

Duthie plant on the East Waterway of the Duwamish, 1917.

View from the water

View from the water, 1917

• SS Griffdu, last ship built
• USS West Bridge (ID-2888)
• USS West Point (ID-3254)
• USS Western Hope (ID-3771)
• USS Western Sea (ID-3153)
• USS Western Star (ID-4210)
• USS Westerner (ID-2890)
• USS Westover (ID-2867)
• USS Westpool (ID-3675)