Mare Island Museum

Innovation in Shipbuilding Beginning with the early 1900’s the US Navy and Mare Island Naval Shipyard were undergoing rapid evolution. The Spanish American War had transformed the United States from a politically isolationist country to an imperial power spanning territory spread out over 10,000 miles. The breadth of the Nation's responsibilities required adequate ships to project power as blue water navy rather than just focusing on coastal defense. Building those ships ...Continue reading

Brutal Cold July 9th, 1879 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution stating: That this Board, speaking for the citizens of San Francisco, hereby desire to express their admiration and esteem for Mr. James Gordon Bennett, the promoter of the most meritorious enterprise, heartily sympathizing in the success of the expedition, and wishing the Jeannette a safe and speedy voyage, and a fortunate result in her undertaking. The Jeannette was the name of a ship ...Continue reading

Wooden Ships on the Water. In 1952 Mare Island began work on a couple of unusual naval warships. They were designed by the naval architecture firm of Sparkman & Stevens LLC, a firm most famous for yacht design. While these ships were state-of-the-art, they were also made of wood and most steel and iron parts were replaced with non-magnetic aluminum, brass or bronze. These warships were coastal minesweepers urgently designed and built to address thousands of sensitive Soviet ...influence mines used by the North Korean’s during the Korean War. The coastal minesweeper Bluebird was launched on May 11, 1953 in direct response to this mine threat. The Soviet influence mines were intermixed with ancient contact mines and had sunk numerous allied WWII vintage minesweepers during clearance operations preparatory to the invasion of North Korea at Wonsan harbor. Those clearance operations had gone so poorly the invasion landings were delayed by more than a week. Admiral Allan E. Hoke Smith commander of the Wonsan advance force said of mine disaster at Wonsan at the time: ‘We have lost control of the seas to a nation without a Navy, using pre-World War I weapons, laid by vessels that were utilized at the time of the birth of Christ. His later official report would state The Navy is able to sink an enemy fleet, to defeat aircraft and submarines, to do precision bombing, rocket attack, and gunnery, to support troops ashore and blockade, met a massive 3,000 mine field laid off Wonsan by the Soviet naval experts. . . . The strongest Navy in the world had to remain in the Sea of Japan while a few minesweepers struggled to clear Wonsan. The Navy responded with an urgent program to build 68 minesweepers, four of which were to be constructed with non-magnetic wood. That struggle to clear the Wonsan minefield was a harrowing affair. The US minesweepers PIRATE and PLEDGE both struck and were sunk by mines. Survivors were raked by North Korean gunners on nearby islands until the gunfire was silenced by counter fire from US warships and aircraft. The Korean War ended about the time these minesweepers were launched, so they never saw action in that conflict. Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War and walk thru the historic Alden Park. Our venues, the museum, St. Peter’s Chapel, and Naval Officers Mansions, remain closed until further notice. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

She Lives On Following Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 President Franklin Roosevelt declared a Limited National Emergency to address the underfunded and undermanned U.S. military forces. Then in 1940 Congress passed the Naval Expansion Act authorizing and funding $1.3 Billion to construct 77 new warships as fast as the Nation’s shipyard infrastructure could build them. One of those ships was destined to become the only one of the over 500 ships built during Mare I...Continue reading

Kindly Old Gentleman With the emergence of the Cold War following World War II the stage was set for the emergence of one of the most controversial, revered, and sometimes disdained leaders in our Navy’s history. Following World War II Europe was divided between western countries aligned with the United States allies and communist-leaning governments in Eastern Europe. This division was characterized in a speech by the British leader, Winston Churchill, in 1946 when he famo...Continue reading

Submarine Sat for 8 Years Awaiting Maintenance The Navy Times recently published the incredible story of one of the Navy’s newer submarines the USS BOISE (SSN-764). The BOISE was commissioned in late 1992 as Cold War ended, the Soviet Union had collapsed, China was a paper tiger, and Navy and Pentagon planners were dealing with the realities of greatly reduced budget support. The industrial infrastructure required to support naval operations is incredibly expensive to obtai...Continue reading

World’s First The world’s first nuclear-powered submarine was no stranger to Mare Island Naval Shipyard. Prior to her historic voyage beneath the North Pole, she was fitted with emergency breathing apparatus to allow her crew to fight a fire while submerged and she was converted to a historic monument at the shipyard. While she was undergoing conversion to a historic monument on the Mare Island waterfront in the 1980’s the environmental organization Greenpeace decided to ta...ke their ship, the Rainbow Warrior, to Vallejo and board the submarine as a protest against . something? You will not find anything about the Greenpeace incident on the internet as the planned photo op of the heroic Rainbow Warriors boarding the submarine did not work out to well when they were confronted by Mare Island security. It is not clear who was responsible for the medical costs incurred by the protestors. This 5 minute video gives a little history on the NAUTILUS and shows her in her permanent home at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Conneticut. Former shipyarders keep an eye out for sign on the building ways that gives the submarine's "declivity." Not likely most folks will know what that refers to. https://youtu.be/UwnQsio7aAI Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are shut down due to COVID 19 protocols for now). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

New Shipbuilding Plan Here is a very interesting link to an article regarding the latest Office of Management and Budget plans for Navy shipbuilding. The Navy’s aggressive plan to grow the fleet from 290 to 356 ships has now been amped up to a goal 403 ships to maintain global dominance. The 365-ship plan was severely constrained by inadequate shipyard infrastructure, but according to the latest plan the 403 ship plan is not. Seems counterintuitive, but we will see. With ...the change in administration, it remains to be seen if either plan will be funded. Whatever happens, the article provides interesting insight into Navy shipbuilding plans. https://news.usni.org//white-house-led-navy-shipbuilding-p Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are shut down due to COVID 19 protocols for now). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

Sailor Tom Brendan Riley's latest article from Solano Chronicles featuring Tom Sharkey, the heavy weight Mare Island fighter that went on to national fame. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CalHistory/permalink/1496847073859405/... Brendan refers to a famous fight between Sharkey and heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries that was filmed and you can see a link to a portion of that fight here https://www.facebook.com/groups/CalHistory/permalink/1496847073859405/ Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are shut down due to COVID 19 protocols for now). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

Barefaced Bribery By the year 1890 the post-Civil War industrial age was a quarter century old and the forces unleashed by the development of steam engines had revolutionized industry, navies, and government. That revolution also provided for unprecedented wealth among a privileged few and flagrant corruption in government. Often the privileged few and government were found to work together, and such was the case at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The steam engines that powered...Continue reading

Follow the Leader Saturday, September 1, 1923 had an inauspicious start as deep within the earth, pent up stresses suddenly exceeded the shear strength of the earth’s crust. When the crust let go, the earth in Japan around Tokyo Bay shook 4 to 10 minutes with the same magnitude as the earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1906. Like the San Francisco earthquake, fires became a major cause of secondary destruction, but the death toll in Japan ended up two to three hundred ti...Continue reading

Hope Perhaps there is nothing more important to the perseverance of the human spirit than hope. Hope was in short supply following the dark days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at the outbreak of the United States (US) involvement in World War II. Across the Pacific the Japanese war machine was successfully attacking and conquering Allied forces everywhere, including invading and taking American territory in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Recognizing the need for a s...Continue reading

In God We Trust Thanks to the efforts of Joseph F. Mayer, LCDR, CHC, USN, the Chaplain serving aboard the USS EMORY S. LAND (AS 39), a group of volunteer sailors showed up last week to lend a hand to the Mare Island Museum in maintaining the extensive grounds of the Admiral’s Mansion on Mare Island. The mansion is located on the oldest naval shipyard on our Nation’s West Coast and is built on the original brick foundation of the mansion of Mare Island’s first commander who w...Continue reading

Avenging Infamy In 1917 Mare Island Naval Shipyard dispatched a warship that would be credited with destroying one of the most infamous ships of all time. One hundred years ago on a bright sunny day and within sight of the Irish Coast a shocking event took place. In the early afternoon, as thousands of passengers sat down for lunch, a speeding torpedo slammed into the side of the majestic Cunard liner Lusitania. The damage was so great that within 18 minutes the ship sank cas...Continue reading

Navy Ghost Stories It is almost Fall, and Halloween is a great time for eerie tales and paranormal events. Here are a few from naval history. In August 1942 a Navy blimp, L-8, was sent to the Farallon Islands to look for possible Japanese submarines approaching the West Coast. It was crewed by Ernest Cody and Charles Adams who reported they saw an oil spill and would be investigating it. At about 1030 hours a Pan Am plane saw the blimp and it appeared to be on course. At 120...Continue reading

Busy, Busy, Busy There is a dearth of domestic shipyard infrastructure and capacity in our Nation following the downsizing of the military after the end of the Cold War. That lack of capacity is obviously good news for Mare Island Dry Dock, LLC. as evidenced by this post. https://www.facebook.com/322018637948170/posts/1716263688523651/... Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are implementing government restrictions for indoor museums and events, so check with the COVID 19 protocols or give us a call prior to coming). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

Last Granite Block put in Place On February 19 in 1891 following nineteen years of construction the last stone was put in place in Mare Island's first graving dock. The Drydock went on to service Navy ships ranging from USS HARTFORD, flagship of David G. Farragut ("Damn the Torpedo's Full Speed Ahead!) at the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864 to Nuclear Submarines in the late 1900's. Congress appropriated $2 million for construction of a drydock at Mare Island, in 1872.... Boston-educated civil engineer Calvin Brown was responsible for much of the design and oversaw the early development during the first ten years of construction. The dock is constructed of dressed Sierra granite, it stands at a width of 122 feet by 508 feet in length and a depth of 32 feet. The excavation was done by hand and spoils were hauled by horse carts up ramps to remove them. At one-point explosive blasting done to break up spoils caused the cofferdam holding back the river to be breached resulting in a lawsuit and claims against the government. That lawsuit went on for nearly as many years as the construction period for the dry dock. Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are implementing government restrictions for indoor museums and events, so check with the COVID 19 protocols or give us a call prior to coming). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

Crossing the Bridge In Mare Island Naval Shipyard’s (MINS) earliest days people and goods got to MINS by water. One week after the yard opened two oxen were brought across by boat. Many men rowed their own boats across the strait and made sure when they returned home to take their oars with them so their boats could not be stolen. These small boats were navigational hazards. Many took the ferries. Ferries were owned by private companies and the shipyard. Sometimes tugs or fi...Continue reading

Graveyard Mystery Local historian ruminates on the final resting place of loved mascot. https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayAreaHM/permalink/1006547889771510/... Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are implementing government restrictions for indoor museums and events, so check with the COVID 19 protocols or give us a call prior to coming). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

Déjà vu All Over Again Forty Years ago, Ronald Reagan was running for President at the height of the Cold War. The United States of America (USA) and our allies were engaged in a nuclear standoff with Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR - think Russia). As part of his platform to counter the growing threat posed by the USSR expanding Soviet blue water navy, Reagan established a goal to construct and operate a 600 Ship Navy. The initiative grew out of the decline i...Continue reading

Flag Raising At the start of the day shift a military flag security detail arrived at the flagstaff in Alden Park and stood at attention until the command was made for Parade Rest. Then, at the specified time for Call to The Colors, the unit commander commanded Attention and the flag detail moved to the flagstaff and attached the flag to the halyards. The command was then given to Present Arms and on this command the national anthem began broadcast throughout the shipyard. ...Continue reading

British Bomb Hiroshima In the early summer of 1945 as World War II wound down, an ultra-secret program resulted in a new weapon of unimaginable destructive power. Italy and Germany were defeated, and the only Axis Power remaining was Japan whose fanatical defense of Pacific Islands was expected to increase as the home islands fell in our sights. President Franklin Roosevelt had just died and the question for our new President was, did he authorize use of atomic bomb, or in...stead authorize the invasion of Japan to end the nightmare of World War II. He chose use of the bomb. Once he authorized the use, things moved rapidly as the bomb parts passed through Mare Island and Hunters Point prior to being loaded onto the USS INDIANAPOLIS for transit to Tinian Island far out in the Pacific. Three weeks later the bombs were separately loaded aboard US B-29 Superfortresses to be carried to the Japanese Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki three days apart in August 1945. The bombs ended the war, and the necessity of the decision to use them has been debated ever since. The debate has always centered on what was a unilateral US action. Turns out, another option was dropping the bombs from British Lancaster bombers. It didn’t happen, but the story of why and how it could have happened is pretty interesting and can be seen in this 15 minute video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XX9ptCNpik&feature=youtu.be. Come visit Mare Island’s newest monument to the workers and sailors who won the Cold War, the historic Alden Park, St. Peter’s Chapel, Naval Officers Mansions, and the Mare Island Museum. On this first United States (US) Naval base on the Pacific Coast, you will be treated to one of the largest non-federal collections of official US Navy artifacts anywhere (We are implementing government restrictions for indoor museums and events, so check with the COVID 19 protocols or give us a call prior to coming). Artifacts range from an anchor lost by the HMS CENTURION after her horrific voyage around Cape Horne in 1739, cannons captured in 1871 during a punitive expedition against the Kingdom of Joseon in Korea by the US Asiatic Squadron, to the control room of a Cold War era submarine constructed with actual components from Vallejo’s namesake, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine MARIANO G. VALLEJO (SSBN 658). Stop by and check us out. We are located at 1100 Railroad Avenue on Mare Island in Vallejo and across the street from historic dry dock 1 (completed construction in 1891). Open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday. We are closed on Sundays. #Navy #History #SanFrancisco #BayArea #California #NARFE #northbay #solano #sonoma #napa #vallejo #winecountry #military #tourism #oldnavy #museum

The Mare Island Museum has reopened while implementing standard COVID-19 protocols. Open Monday Friday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday: Closed. Social distancing, masks and hand sanitizing required. Guided Tours and rental of event spaces remain suspended.

Navy’s Most Decorated Vessel By the end of her 30-year career the USS PARCHE (SSN 683) had been awarded nine Presidential Unit Citations, 10 Navy Unit Commendations and 13 Expeditionary Medals making her the most decorated vessel in the United States Navy. The PARCHE was built at the Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS and commissioned in January 1974. Her first assignment was with SUBLANT (submarines in the Atlantic) and made a run to the Mediterranean in 1975-76. One c...Continue reading

Wooden Dry-Docks The USS EMORY S. LAND, a submarine tender, is currently docked in Mare Island’s dry dock 2 undergoing a $34 million overhaul. She owes her presence in that dry dock to decisions made a century and a quarter ago. Then, like now, the US Navy was limited by the lack of shoreside infrastructure and specifically, dry docks. In 1897 Rear Admiral Francis Bunce chaired a board investigating the lack of shore infrastructure. That board recommended a forty percen...Continue reading

Music in the Air No church is complete without an organ and St. Peter’s Chapel on Mare Island is no exception. The historic Chapel sits surrounded by parkland since its construction at the dawn of the last century. The story of the organ is as interesting as that of the Chapel itself. When the Chapel was first built the original organ was moved in 1901 from the large brick administration building overlooking Alden Park where religious services had been held. That organ r...Continue reading