Mare Island Naval Shipyard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mare Island Naval Shipyard, under study for groundwater and topsoil contamination

The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINS) was the first United States Navy shipyard established on the Pacific Coast. It is located at 38.10 N, 122.27 W, in Solano County, California, and approximately 25 miles northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River (Mare Island Strait) separates the peninsula shipyard (Mare Island, California) from the city of Vallejo, California. The Navy purchased the original 956 acres (3.9 km²) of MINS in 1853 and commenced shipbuilding operations on September 16, 1854 under the command of then-Commander David Farragut, who would later gain fame during the US Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay, when he gave the order, "Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!"

As shipbuilding technologies advanced from wooden sail vessels to steel construction and nuclear propulsion, MINS underwent vast transformations during its years of operation. In the early 1920s, the Navy initiated construction and maintenance of submarines at MINS. During World War II, MINS reached peak capacity for shipbuilding, repair, overhaul, and maintenance. Following the War, MINS was considered to be one of the primary stations for construction and maintenance of the Navy’s Pacific fleet of submarines. It is presently over 5,200 acres (21 km²), and was responsible for construction of over 500 naval vessels and overhauling thousands of other naval vessels. In addition to shipyard operations, ordnance manufacturing and storage was another key mission at MINS for nearly the same time period—including those used prior to the American Civil War.

On January 1, 1918, the Marine Detachment of Mare Island won the Rose Bowl, defeating the US Army team fielded by Camp Davis by a score of 19-7.

World War I Yeomanettes at Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Aerial photo of southern Mare Island and the shipyard facility

In 1969, during the Vietnam War, the US Navy transferred their Brown Water Navy Riverine Training Operations from Coronado, California, to Mare Island, California. Motorists travelling along Highway 37 from the Vallejo/Fairfield areas to the Bay Area, which passes through Mare Island, could often view US Navy Swift Boats (PCF-Patrol Craft Fast) and PBR's (Patrol Boat River), among other riverine type boats, maneuvering through the sloughs of the currently named Napa-Sonoma State Wildlife Area; which borders the north and west portions of Mare Island. US Navy Reserve Units may still operate the slough portions of the State Wildlife Area for training purposes, as the navigatable waters are considered public domain. The US Navy Brown Water Riverine Forces deactivated after the Vietnam War, maintaining only the US Naval Reserve PBR's and auxilary craft at Mare Island, until the 1996 base closure; at which time the Reserve units moved to new facilities in Sacramento, California.

MINS was identified for closure during the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process of 1993. Naval operations ceased and the facility was decommissioned on April 1, 1996. The California Conservation Corps, Touro University, and numerous commercial and industrial businesses are currently leasing property aboard the former naval shipyard. In May 2000, the Navy completed the transfer of a former housing area called Roosevelt Terrace using an economic development conveyance. An economic development conveyance is a method to accelerate the transfer of BRAC facilities back to civilian communities for their economic benefit. The Navy is also transferring property at the shipyard to other government agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge, a Forest Service office building, a U.S. Army Reserve Center, a U.S. Coast Guard communications facility, and a U.S. Department of Education school.