CECIL H. BACON (15043)

Man is measured by his usefulness and worth, and judged by this standard; Cecil H. Bacon is one of Seattle's valuable citizens, for he is a pioneer in the drop forging industry, conducting a business which is of service to the entire northwest. He was born in Champaign, Illinois, and was there reared and educated. He took a course in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois and in 1890 came to Seattle. Soon afterward he located in Whatcom, now known as Bellingham, and was engaged in the feed business for eight years. In 1899 he returned to Seattle and for eighteen years was a member of the firm of Galbraith, Bacon & Company, located on pier No.3, dealers, in hay, grain, building material, cement, lime, plaster, etc. They established a large trade but in 1918 Mr. Bacon sold his holdings in the company and purchased the business which he now controls.

This was established in 1886 by Robert G. Westerman, who conducted an iron foundry on Post Street near the old power house. He started on a small scale, having but one forge at first, but was soon obliged to seek larger quarters. The building to which he moved was completed May 20, 1889, and on June 6 of the same year was entirely destroyed by the fire which devastated Seattle. Soon afterward Mr. Westerman rebuilt on a larger scale and in 1898 incorporated the business under the name of the Westerman Iron Works, of which he became the president, with A. T. Timmerman as secretary. They engaged in structural steel and iron work and also made forgings. In 1907 they moved from First Avenue, South, and Atlantic Street to No. 17-35 West Lander Street and were among the first to locate in this neighborhood, where the business has since been conducted. On May 1, 1918, Cecil H. Bacon purchased the business and in December of that year the name of the Bacon & Matheson Forge Company was adopted, when Mr. Matheson became a partner in the firm, having been manager of the plant for four years previously. Of this corporation Mr. Bacon is the president and Mr. Matheson fills the office of vice president and manager. They employ from forty-five to sixty men and the space covered by the plant is one hundred and fifty by two hundred feet in extent. In 1918 they began the manufacture of drop forgings and theirs is the only plant of the kind in the five states of the northwest. They make a superior product and for years have been showing Pacific coast manufacturers the way to profit and satisfaction through the use of drop forgings, which mean tremendous savings over hammer forgings, where quantity parts are used, owing to their strength and durability. Moreover, they are neat, accurate and uniform, so that only one set-up is required for machining in quantities. The Bacon & Matheson Forge Company maintain an engineering department and does much of its own designing. Drop forgings lend themselves easily to welding to other steel parts or surfaces and run into thousands of shapes. They are used in the construction of logging and Diesel engines, airplanes, milling machinery, tackle blocks for ships, etc., and may be made from any specifications of steel demanded, either carbon or alloy steel The firm has fabricated the structural steel for many of Seattle's new buildings. The company also does heavy forging and upsetting and manufactures large shafting, raft dogs, radiator hangers, blocks, etc., under the B & M trademark. Mr. Bacon is particularly interested in the manufacture of drop forgings and is planning to make this the most important feature of the business.  The output is sold mostly in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana and the company also makes some shipments to California. Governed by time-honored ideals, the finished products of the company are the result of constant striving for perfection. Such concerns maintain and ever raise the standards of American industry.   In 1902 Mr. Bacon was married in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Ellen R. Cook, a native of that city, and they have become the parents of three children: Katharine, a graduate of the University of Washington; and Stephen S. and Cecil H., Jr., who are now students at that institution of learning. Mr. Bacon is identified with the Seattle Golf Club, the Rainier Club and the Arctic Club, while his wife belongs to the Sunset Club. He has found time to cooperate in well defined plans for Seattle's up building and advancement and is one of the enterprising members of the Chamber of Commerce.

W. Scott Matheson, a native of Nova Scotia, was graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June, 1899, with the degree of B. S. in Mechanical Engineering, and came to Seattle in 1906. He is an expert engineer, as well as an able business man of broad experience, and has been manager of the plant since 1914, working earnestly and effectively for the development of the industry.

Source: Bagley, Clarence B., History of King County Washington, The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago-Seattle, 1929, Volume II, pages 46-48.

Repository: King County Library System, Burien Branch, Reference Section.