Photographs of Robert Moran, approximately 1880s- 1930s

Robert Moran was born in New York City on January 26, 1857. He was the third of ten children born to Edward and Jane Moran. Robert Moran (1857-1943) arrived in Yesler's Wharf Seattle in 1875 at age 18, alone, with just pennies in his pocket. He worked a series of jobs before he found his way working on steamships. A boiler inspector began tutoring Robert in mathematics, mechanical engineering, and drafting. He made a steady incline from deckhand to chief engineer. By 1877 he had saved enough money to bring is mother and four of his younger brothers and sisters from New York to Seattle. In 1881, Robert Married Melissa Paul, who emigrated to Seattle in 1879. They had four children and one adopted child. In 1882, Robert quite steamboat engineering and with his brothers Peter and William opened a marine-repair and machine shop. By 1900, he was one of the city's wealthiest and most-respected businessmen, head of a major shipbuilding company, twice elected mayor (1888-1890), credited with helping Seattle rebuild and modernize after a devastating fire in 1889. The apex of his career came in 1904 when his shipyard launched the battleship Nebraska. He sold the company and retired to Orcas Island, where he bought more than 5,000 acres and began developing an elaborate estate he named Rosario. The centerpiece was a 54-room mansion that he designed himself. He later donated much of his land around Mt. Constitution to the state for what became Moran State Park in 1921. In 1938, widowed, with his children grown, he sold the rest of his property and moved into a small house elsewhere on the island.