McCurdy, H. W. (Horace Winslow), 1899-1989

The collection was assembled by Horace Winslow ("H.W.") McCurdy (1899-1989). McCurdy was an engineer who began working for the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in about 1922. He became president and general manager of the company in 1931. Founded in 1889, the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was destined to become one of Seattle's most important companies. Whether under the title Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company or Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, their hand can be seen in most major construction sites in the Pacific Northwest including Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. In addition, they are responsible for many ships, including some of the Washington State ferries and many naval vessels during and after World War II. Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was purchased by Lockheed in 1959.

Horace Winslow (H.W.) "Mac" McCurdy was a shipbuilder, bridge builder, civic leader, native Washingtonian, and most enduringly a supporter of maritime research and maritime collecting in the Pacific Northwest. The structures built by his firm, Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging, include the Lake Washington Floating Bridge (1940) and the Hood Canal Bridge (1961). He completely underwrote the expense of producing, "The H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest" and its subsequent volume "The H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, 1966-1976." He was a prime mover in the establishment and early development of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. H.W. McCurdy was the grandson of one of the best-known Port Townsend, WA families. Gordon Newell was H.W. "Mac" McCudy's biographer. He passed away on 13 November 1989 in Seattle, WA. He was memorialized at Seattle's First Presbyterian Church and at the Scottish Rite Temple. He was laid to rest in Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Townsend, WA. A Seattle Times columnist remembered him as a prototypical pioneer. He started as a laborer and before he retired he had built many bridges, three ferries, and the 800-mile-long Distant Early Warning radar line in Alaska. He built air bases in WW II. He built more than 100 ships and his buildings and dams are still to be seen throughout the world. He was a maritime historian who became a legend on the Seattle waterfront.

Founded in 1889, the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company was destined to become one of Seattle's most important companies. Whether under the title Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company or Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, their hand can be seen in most major construction sites in the Pacific Northwest including Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and California. In addition, they are responsible for many ships, including some of the Washington State ferries and many naval vessels during and after World War II.

More recent projects include the Grand Coulee Dam, much of the Interstate 5 bridges and roadways through Seattle, and the San Fernando Tunnel in California. They have continued to build ships ranging from dredges, tugs and ferries to mine sweepers, ice breakers and guided missile frigates, mostly for the Navy, Coast Guard and the states of Washington and Alaska.

The collection was assembled by Horace Winslow ("H.W.") McCurdy (1899-1989). McCurdy was an engineer who began working for the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company in about 1922. He became president and general manager of the company in 1931.