In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed George as Chief of the Division of Marine Engineering, U. S. Bureau of Lighthouses, Department of Commerce, a post which he held through President William Howard Taft’s administration and into the first half of Woodrow Wilson’s administration.
The 11-12 December 1913 Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers noted the following about one of George Warrington’s designs, in this case a lightship:
U. S. Lightvessel No. 94, Plate 53…(shown below) may be taken as an illustration of the degree to which this type of craft has been developed. It was completed and placed upon station at the Frying Pan Shoal, N. C., in 1911, and still remains the latest and most highly developed addition to the fleet, although new vessels are now under construction which will be equipped throughout with internal combustion main and auxiliary engines.
The vessel was designed under the direction of Mr. George Warrington, Chief of the Division of Marine Engineering, U. S. Bureau of Lighthouses, and possesses the following general dimensions and characteristics:-
Length over all 135 ft. 9 in. Length on the sixth water line, from the after side of the stem to the forward side of the stern frame 112 ft. 11 in. Beam, moulded 29 ft. 0 in. Depth of hold from top of main deck beam to top of keel amidships. 15 ft. 4 in. Displacement (moulded) at 12 feet 9 inches mean draught in salt water, 660 tons Signal light fixed white: 68 ft. Elevation above water Range of visibility 14 miles Candle-power 2,900 Fog signal: Steam chime whistle 12 inches Blast 5 seconds Silent 55 seconds Hand and submarine bell.
U.S. Naval Vessels
As a naval architect and yachtsman, George Warrington took an interest in all floating craft, including those of the U.S. Navy. Here are a couple of photographs from his collection, taken before his stint with the Bureau of Lighthouses and Lightships.
Steam Yacht Courier
In his last years in the Washington area, George Warrington still found time–and the means–to pursue yachting in new waters, namely the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The Courier was the family’s last steam yacht.
According to the 1922 List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, issued by the Department of Commerce (where George Warrington had worked,) the Courier’s specifications were as follows:
- Official Number: 127179
- Call numbers: KNBL
- Gross tonnage: 65
- Net tonnage: 44
- Length: 91.3′
- Breadth (or more properly beam): 15.8′
- Depth (or more properly draught): 8.5′
- Service: Yacht
- Crew: 9
- Indicated Horsepower: 250
- Year and Place Built: 1897, South Boston, MA
- Home Port: Washington, DC
When George Warrington died, his University of Illinois class secretary C.B. Gibson noted the following:
George Warrington, a former student of ’77 (1877), retired capitalist and former consulting engineer of Washington, D.C., died there December 24 (1925) at the age of 65, according to word just received. Born in Chicago, July 9, 1857, the son of Henry Warrington, he entered the College of Engineering in 1873, where he studied mechanical engineering until 1876, when he withdrew. He married Minnie A. Chester, [’79’], who survives him. The family home was at 3110 19th St. N.W., Washington.
Mr. Warrington was president of the Warrington Iron Works at Chicago. he design and built numerous steam yachts such as the Pathfinder, Thistle, Idler, Buena, Arline, Bald Eagle, besides various others at Geneva Lake, Wis. He owned the yacht Courier. He was the inventor of the Warrington water tube boiler and of many other marine auxiliaries. From 1903 until 1915 he was commissioner of lighthouses in the Dept. of Commerce at Washington.
Chet Aero Marine 