Most people know that the Boeing Company, one of the world’s leading aerospace corporations, got its start in Seattle. But what fewer people know is that its founder, William Boeing, got his own start as a Grays Harbor timber baron.
Boeing Inherited Grays Harbor Timberland
Born in Detroit in 1881, William was the eldest child of Wilhelm (1846-1889) and Marie (1862-1910) Boeing. His father had immigrated from Germany, changed his last name from Böing to Boeing, and made a fortune in the timber industry. His holdings included timberlands on Grays Harbor. His first purchase there, 6,000 acres, was made in 1887.
Wilhelm died of the flu. Daughter Margaret died two years later. Devastated, Marie sent William and his sister Caroline off to boarding school, first in Switzerland and later in Boston. It was a lonely childhood by all accounts…