Ballard Boat Works 1905 and Present
A glimpse into a Norwegian boat builder's boatyard in Seattle Pre-Locks
Sivert Engelsen Sagstad, a young Norwegian boat builder emigrated to Seattle and opened Ballard Boat Works, pictured here on lower Salmon Bay, pre-Locks in 1905.
I paddle past this shoreline weekly and have been trying to look for any early evidence of his boatyard and as well as any Shilshole tribal evidence which was prevalent along the shoreline prior to the boatyard.
When the Ballard Locks were being developed some of the shoreline below the boatyard was removed. In the 1905 mage, note that the shoreline had a gentle slope to the water. In the Now images, the shoreline is shorter and abruptly drops to the water.
Read more about Sagstad and the 70' Viking ship replica in this article from HistoryLink.. Read the HistoryLink story
The location is also within Trip #22 in my book Paddling the Salish Sea 80 Trips from Mountaineers Books.
