Lockley, Fred. "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the Sea." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928. p. 632. WILLIAM H. and ERNEST VON DER WERTH Portland's proximity to the sea and to the great rivers which constitute maritime highways has naturally made it a favorable site for boat-building enterprises, and among those who have recognized the opportunities offered in this field is numbered Ernest von der Werth, who is today classed among the most prominent and successful shipbuilders of the Pacific coast. The business was established in 1904 and throughout the entire intervening period Ernest von der Werth has been associated with his brother, W. H. von der Werth, and even previous to this time their business interests and activities were almost identical. The brothers were born in Germany, sons of Albert and Augusta (Alt) von der Werth. The family came to America in 1881, settling in Detroit, where they remained for four years and then removed to Buffalo. The father died in 1903, the mother surviving until 1913. Albert von der Werth possessed great mechanical skill and ingenuity but ill health prevented his active connection with business after the removal of the family to Oregon. To him and his wife were born five children: Antonia, who died in Buffalo; William Hugo, a member of the von der Werth firm of boat builders, who is married and has one child, Florence; Ernest von der Werth; Albert, who is living in San Francisco and is married and has two children, Albert and Gordon; and Walter, of Portland. It was during the residence of the family in Detroit that Ernest von der Werth became interested in boats. He attended school there and afterward learned the cabinetmaker's trade in that city, remaining in Detroit for four months after the family removed to Buffalo, when he joined them there. In the latter city he and his brother, William H. von der Werth, were employed in a piano factory for about a year, at the end of which time Ernest von der Worth secured a situation in a large planing mill which was located on the lake front and in which he did cabinet work. Boats continued to be his hobby and he spent his spare time in designing craft of that kind. While living in Detroit he built a boat for himself and also in Buffalo. In 1889 the family came to Portland and with his westward removal it was his plan to build boats, but he did not find an advantageous market at that time. Previously he had worked in car shops in Buffalo, as had his father, and it was experience of this character that prompted him, when he found that he could not carry out his plan of building boats, to secure a situation in the Columbia Car & Tool Works. When they retired from business in 1893 he entered the employ of the Portland Street Railway Company, he and his brother being engaged in repair work and in rebuilding street cars, remaining with that company until June, 1894. They then rented a place at Nineteenth and Vaughn streets and engaged in repair work on buildings and in restoring inside fixtures which had been damaged by the flood of 1894. They afterward again entered the employ of the railway company, where they worked in fixing up the cars that had been damaged in the flood. Later they rented space at Second and Clay streets and established a shop, doing contracting and building and car repair work. In 1896 the railway company put up a building for their use at Fifteenth and Washington streets, where they continued doing contracting repair work, being thus engaged until 1901, when they sold the business to the street car company. At that time W. H. von der Werth took the management of car building for the street railway company. His brother was also associated with him in this undertaking and their careers are notable in the fact that they have always been closely connected in their business activities. Notwithstanding the different lines in which he worked nor the pressure of his business cares, Ernest von der Werth was always thinking and dreaming of boats. In 1904 he had built a boat for his own use. When gas engines were introduced he foresaw great possibilities for boat building and he never ceased to cherish the idea that he might enter that field of business. When the street railway merger took place both brothers left the railway employ and it was not long before they became actively engaged in boat building. The brothers established business by renting a small place from Joseph Supple at the foot of Belmont street and a little later removed to Morrison street, near the Morrison street bridge. After the fire of 1905 they secured ground formerly occupied by the Portland Rowing Club. Their plant had been located near the Portland Rowing Club, and although they were not burned out, it was necessary to rebuild. They constructed a floating ship and through all the intervening period they have been engaged in building pleasure boats and other small craft. In 1914 they built their present floating ship, which is fifty by one hundred feet. The biggest boat which they ever constructed was a towboat for the Crown Willamette Paper Company. Their output now exceeds one hundred boats and includes the Charmalee, which held a record from 1911 to 1921 for fast time on a round trip from Portland to Astoria and back, making the distance of two hundred and eight miles in seven hours and thirteen minutes, with a speed at times of thirty-four miles per hour. The brothers do all their own designing, having developed many new types of boats, and they employ ten men. They have executed some important contracts and are accorded a liberal patronage. Ernest von der Werth is well known in Masonic circles, having taken the degrees of the York Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He also belongs to the Auld Lang Syne Society, is a charter member of the Portland Yacht Club and the Portland Marine Club and belongs to the Portland Marine Trades Association and the Oregon Outboard Association. He has come to a realization of the hope which he has entertained from his boyhood of becoming a boat builder and in this field has achieved a measure of success that is gratifying. ******************* Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in April 2010 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.