46°42′22″N92°02′38″W / 46.706244°N 92.043896°W /46.706244; -92.043896



Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was a large-scaleWorld War II ship manufacturingshipyard, located atSuperior, Wisconsin, United States. Walter Butler purchased the shipyard from Lake Superior Shipbuilding in 1942. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was at E 1st St, Superior, Wisconsin. The shipyard was located on the western part ofLake Superior. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. was found by Walter Butler in 1942 to buildships for World War II. Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc., theMcDougall Duluth Shipbuilding Company and theSuperior Shipbuilding Company (nowFraser Shipyards) were called theTwin Ports shipbuilding industry ofMinnesota andWisconsin. Once built the ships can travel to theAtlantic Ocean through theGreat Lakes and theSaint Lawrence Seaway.
To expand operations and built more ships theEmergency Shipbuilding Program, Walter Butler purchased theBarnes-Duluth Shipbuilding at 110 Spring Street,Duluth, Minnesota, now the site of the West Duluth'sSpirit Lake Marina. The Duluth shipyard was located onSt. Louis River Estuary 6 miles west of the Superior shipyard. The shipyard was calledWalter Butler Shipbuilders-Duluth. At the Duluth shipyards built wereC1-M type ships. The Superior and Duluth shipyards closed in August 1945, as all war contacts ended and there was a surplus of ships at the end of the war. In 1950 the Superior shipyard site became theEnbridge Ogdensburg Pier that serves the inlandEnbridge's Superior Terminal.
Walter Butler shipbuilding was a family company started in 1877 as theButler Brothers Shipbuilders, then later called Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. The brother pass the yard toRobert Butler (1897-1955). After the war Robert Butler was appointedUS Ambassador toAustralia byPresident Truman in 1946.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]The Butler Brothers started as aniron oremining company in Cooley andNashwauk, Minnesota in the 1920s and 1930s. Butler Brothers sold the company to theHanna Mining Company. The Butler Brothers were: Walter (1858-1933),Pierce (1866–1939), Emmett (1870-1870), Cooley (1868-1965), John (1876-1926), Willian (1864-1916). They start as the group that ran the 'Butler Brothers Construction Company. Pierce Butler was the legal counsel for the Butler Brothers construction company.[9][10] The Butler Brothers father was Patrick Butler (1824 - 1900) born inDublin, Ireland and came to America when he was 20. Patrick married Mary Ann Gaffney on February 11, 1850, inGalena, Illinois. They came to Minnesota in 1856.
Walter Butler was born inLakeville, Minnesota on July 6, 1858. Walter went toCarleton College inNorthfield, Minnesota. In 1880 he became a bricklayer and moved toSaint Paul, Minnesota. His brothers also moved to Saint Paul and stated Butler Brothers Construction partnership in 1887. Butler Brothers Construction first large contract was buildingMacalester College in Saint Paul. Next large contract was in 1904 to buildGrand Central Terminal inNew York City. Other projects included working on the House wing of theNorth Dakota State Capitol (1903) andDetroit River Tunnel (1906-1910). In 1884 Walter Butler married Rose Sweeny, they had five children, Rose died in 1901, Walter remarried in October 1902 to Helen Wood. Walter Butler died on October 28, 1933, at the age of 75.[11]
Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. Superior shipyard built ships under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program:

N3-S-A1:Type N3 ship, 2,905 DWT cargo ship, length: 258 feet (78.87 m), most sent to Britain, built in 1943:

S2-S2-AQ1Tacoma-class frigate, length 303 feet, built in 1944:

C1-M-AV1 Cargo shiptype C1, length 338 feet, 5,032 DWT, with one large diesel engine, built in 1944 and 1945:
Lake Superior Shipbuilding built two ships before being purchased by Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc.The two ship were

During World War II Walter Butler Shipbuilders took over the Globe Shipbuilding shipyard in Superior, Wisconsin, near the currentFraser Shipyards, to build ships under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program.Globe Shipbuilding Company built ships for World War 1, but in a different shipyard. During World War II Globe employed 2,500 workers, 10% were female, their president was Clarence Skamser. The Globe had a baseball team that played other shipyards, including Marine Ironworks & Shipbuilding and Zenith Dredge.[16][17][18][19][20][21]
Ships built at Walter Butler Shipbuilders' Globe Shipbuilding shipyard:
V4-M-A1Type V ship seaworthy tugs, 186-foot long with a steel hull:

S2-S2-AQ1Tacoma-class frigate:
C1-M-AV1Type C1 cargo ship:
Globe Shipbuilding World War 1
Globe Shipbuilding built: cargo,Naval trawler andfishing trawler ships from 1918 to 1920:[22]
Lake Washburn, Lake Borgne, Lake Medford, Lake Arline,Sea Gull, (Trawler: Petrel, Ripple, Ocean), Conotton, Contoocook, Coolspring, Copalgrove, Lake Glebe, Lake Glencoe, Lake Fiscus, Lake Fisher, Lake Fitch, Lake Fithian, Lake Flag, Lake Glaucus, Lake Gunni, Lake Harminia, Lake Hector, and Lake Justice.[23]
Some of Walter Butler Shipbuilders Duluth ships:[24]Duluth shipyard builtC1-M-AV1 type C1 cargo ships, 2239 tons, 3,805 DWT:[25]

Enbridge Ogdensburg Pier was opened in 1950 at the site of the former Walter Butler Superior shipyard. The Enbridge Ogdensburg Pier serves the inland Enbridge's Superior Terminal.Enbridge is a Canadian energy transportation company with headquarters inCalgary,Alberta. Enbridge transports, distributes and generatesenergy, inCanada and theUnited States. Enbridge operates in transportation, distribution and generation ofcrude oil and liquidhydrocarbons-natural gas. Enbridge Ogdensburg Pier as a dock for the energy transport ships. The Superior Terminal is 550-acre and is used to store and distributes crude oil to the United States. I also is connected to theEnbridge Pipeline System. About 20% United States crude oil imports come through the Terminal.[26][27][28][29]