Dockton, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dockton
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 Dockton
Location in Washington (state)
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| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | King |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
Dockton is a small community in King County, Washington. It is not a city, but an unincorporated community, meaning it's governed by the county. Dockton is found on Maury Island, right next to Quartermaster Harbor.
Long ago, Dockton was a busy place for building ships. But today, it's mostly a quiet neighborhood where people live. Many residents travel by ferry to nearby Tacoma for work.
Contents
Dockton's History
Dockton was one of the first big settlements on what are now Vashon and Maury Islands. These two islands are now connected. Dockton became a very important place for building ships in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Shipbuilding Center
From 1892 to 1909, the Puget Sound Dry Dock Company had a huge shipyard and drydock here. A drydock is like a special basin that can be drained of water, allowing ships to be built or repaired on dry land. This one was the biggest on the West Coast of the United States. It was about 325 feet (99 meters) long and 203 feet (62 meters) wide.
After this large company closed, other shipyards like Stuckey and Martinolich continued building and fixing boats in Dockton. John Martinolich's shipyard, also in Dockton, built many vessels over the years.
Famous Ships Built in Dockton
Some of the ships built at John Martinolich's shipyard include:
- The propeller steamers Vashon (built in 1905)
- The Verona (built in 1910)
- The Nisqually (later called Astorian) and Calista, both built in 1911
- The Florence J. (built in 1914)
- The F.G. Reeves (built in 1916)
- The Vashona (later called Sightseer) (built in 1921)
- The ferry Whidby (built in 1923)
Sometimes, launching a new ship was tricky. For example, the Florence J. actually rolled over and sank during its first launch attempt! The last commercial boat built in Dockton was the Janet G in 1929.
From Industry to Homes
In the early 1910s, there was also a salmon cannery in Dockton. A cannery is a factory where food is preserved in cans. Fishing in Puget Sound was at its best around 1914. But after that, the number of fish caught started to go down. Because of this, the cannery closed by the end of the decade. Over time, Dockton slowly changed from an industrial area into the residential community it is today.
As Dockton's factories closed, its appeal as a place to live grew. In 1918, King County built a bridge connecting Maury Island to the much larger Vashon Island. Later, the two islands were fully joined by a man-made isthmus (a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas).
Community Hubs
The Dockton Store, which also had a post office, opened in 1920. This store was the heart of the community for many years until it closed in the 1980s. The building is still standing today and is recognized as a King County landmark. It's the only well-preserved commercial building from the early 1900s on Maury Island.
Other things that remind us of Dockton's past include old shipyard pilings (poles driven into the ground to support structures), old piers, and net houses. Also, the homes where the managers and foremen from the industrial days lived are still there. These homes are known together as "Piano Row."
