H.C. HANSON NAVAL ARCHITECTURE COLLECTION
of vessel drawings, photographs, and related materials.

 

The H. C. Hanson Naval Architecture Collection is a unique collection of plans, photographs, periodicals and other assorted materials detailing the life and work of Harold Cornelius Hanson, the Pacific Northwest’s premier designer of commercial watercraft. The collection includes more than 11,000 blueprints, 4,200 original line drawings of boats and boat details, 4,800 photographs and negatives documenting the shipbuilding industry from 1918 to 1970, nearly 10,000 periodicals and books, 17 half-hull models, numerous ship fixtures, drawing tools and Hanson memorabilia. Currently being cataloged for the Whatcom Museum Archives, the collection is available for limited access by scholars, owners of Hanson boats and the general public.

Born Oct. 9, 1892 in Tacoma, Washington, H. C. Hanson learned shipbuilding during his teenage years from his father, who was superintendent of shipyards for Pacific American Fisheries on Eliza Island, Washington. While working with his father, he learned design, operation and repair of tenders, barges, fishing vessels and other working boats. Hanson obtained a high school diploma by correspondence courses and later attended Western Washington College in Bellingham and the University of Washington in Seattle. Despite this educational background, his career was built almost entirely upon practical experience. During his career, Hanson produced from 2,500 to 3,000 designs, from which more than 18,000 boats and ships have been built.

At age 16, Hanson was already designing and building wooden dories in a single day. In 1915, Hanson, 23, was hired as chief draftsman and assistant superintendent at Heath Shipyards in Portland, Oregon, where he designed a fleet of schooners for the Australian government. A year later he became superintendent and chief designer for Sloan Shipyards in Olympia, Washington.

By 1918, Hanson assumed the position of chief inspector at the Puget Sound shipyards for the U.S. government’s Emergency Fleet Corporation. In addition to his inspection duties, Hanson taught shipbuilding classes at a Tacoma high school to train shipworkers for World War I. After the war, Hanson went to work for the government as a representative to the budding Pacific Northwest shipbuilding industry.

In 1922, Hanson left the Emergency Fleet Corporation and went into business for himself as a naval architect and marine engineer, establishing a reputation for innovative, trendsetting designs. Among his credits are the Vulcan, the first all-steel cannery tender, and the Ruby II, the first Puget Sound-built all-steel tug. Hanson’s revolutionary welded-steel designs also largely contributed to the opening of the Columbia River in Washington State.

During World War II, Hanson acted as a representative to the U.S. government for shipyard interests in Washington, Oregon and northern California, earning numerous contracts and commissions for Pacific Northwest shipyards. Among the vessels built under Hanson’s supervision and consultation were minesweepers, Navy patrol boats and Army tugs.

After the war, Hanson continued his design career until he retired in 1972. As a recognized authority in the field of maritime engineering, Hanson spoke for the United States at many international maritime meetings, including the International Fishing Boat Congress.

H. C. Hanson died on Mercer Island, Washington at the age of 82 on Sept. 22, 1975, leaving a remarkable legacy to the shipbuilding industry.

The H. C. Hanson Naval Architecture Collection was donated unconditionally to the Whatcom Museum by the Hanson family and was accepted by the Museum into its permanent collection in 1982. The collection is currently being catalogued and preserved by Museum staff, interns and volunteers. Although public access to the collection is limited at this time, it will become more available for use upon completion of the project.

H. C. Hanson Oral History Project

The Whatcom Museum is pleased to announce the addition of an Oral History Supplement and Photograph Finding Guide to its H. C. Hanson Naval Architecture Collection.

Since acceptance of this large and valuable collection in 1982, the Whatcom Museum Staff have recognized the need to more fully illustrate Hanson's personal history. His naval architecture career, which spanned the years 1907 to 1972, was an integral part of the Pacific Northwest's most intense period of maritime activity. Though known principally for his wooden commercial fishing boat designs, Hanson was also vitally involved during both World Wars in military vessel design and construction. Regardless of its intended use, a Hanson-designed vessel was characteristically both seakindly and seaworthy, yet visually graceful. With approximately 18,000 such boats and ships to his credit, it is not surprising that many are still esteemed and in such active service around the globe.

The Hanson Oral History Supplement in its present form consists of thirty-two audiotaped interviews with persons who either had personal and/or professional contact with Hanson, or were particularly qualified to place his career in a clearer historical perspective. Audiotape contents have not been transcribed, but each tape is accompanied by a written description of contents supplement, which is purposefully detailed and correlated to the tape counter of an audiocassette player available to visiting researchers.

Staff have also compiled a new Finding Guide to the Hanson Collection’s 4,800 photograph prints and negatives. Access is provided by subject category, with indexing at the folder level. Duplication services are available through the Museum's Photo Archives department.

The Hanson Naval Architecture Collection, along with its new Oral History Supplement, is a multifaceted resource with many potential applications. Owners of Hanson-designed vessels, practicing naval architects, model boatbuilders, and marine artists alike will find its line drawings and photographs both informative and inspiring. For those with biographical, sociological or historical interests, the oral history interviews reveal aspects of Hanson's personal character and family life; the ethnic context in which he grew up, lived, worked, and prospered; and the groundshift that World War II hastened within the naval architecture profession, namely the transition from wood to steel vessel design and construction.

Inquiries may be addressed to:

Photo Archivist, Whatcom Museum
121 Prospect St.
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone (360)778-8950

Prior appointments are required for access to the Collection line drawings and blueprints.