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Mare Island Wiki Information



Mare Island is a peninsula alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full body of water separates this or several other named "islands" from the mainland. Instead, a series of small sloughs cause seasonal water-flows among the so-called islands. Mare Island is the largest of these at about long and a mile wide.

This area was part of Rancho Soscol, deeded to General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1844. According to the story, his favorite white mare fell off a raft while being transported across the Carquinez Straits and she avoided drowning by swimming to an island, which he named Isla de la Yegua (Mare Island) in her honor.

The Napa River widens and forms an excellent harbor between Mare Island and the mainland.

MARE ISLAND TICKETS

History

On November 6, 1850, two months after California was admitted to statehood, President Fillmore reserved Mare Island for government use. The U.S. bought Mare Island in July, 1852, for the use as a naval shipyard. Two years later, on September 16, 1854, Mare Island became the first permanent U.S. naval installation on the west coast, with Commodore David G. Farragut, as Mare Island's first base commander. Twelve years later, during the Civil War, Farragut would gain fame during the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, with his order of "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" [1]

For more than a century, Mare Island was the United States Navy's Mare Island Naval Shipyard. The growing size and number of the country's naval fleet was making older facilities obsolete and led to increased building and refitting of shipyards nationally. A drydock was built by the Public Works Department on an excellent rock foundation of cut granite blocks. The work took nineteen years and was completed in 1891. During the Spanish-American War, a concrete drydock on wooden piles, long, was completed after eleven years of work, in 1910. By 1941, a third drydock had been completed and the drydock number four was under construction. The ammunitions depot and submarine repair base were modern, fireproof buildings. A million dollar, three-way vehicle causeway to Vallejo was completed. [2]

Before World War II, Mare Island had been in a continual state of upbuilding. By 1941, new projects included improvements to the central power plant, a new pattern storage building, a large foundry, machine shop, magazine building, paint shop, new administration building, and a huge storehouse. The yard was expected to be able to repair and paint six to eight large naval vessels at a time. Several finger piers had recently been built, as well as a new shipbuilding wharf, adding one and a berth. It employed 5593 workers at the beginning of 1939, and rapidly increased to 18,500 busily engaged by May, 1941, with a monthly payroll of $3,500,000(1941). Then came Pearl Harbor. In 1941, the drafting department had expanded to three buildings accommodating over 400 Naval architects, engineers and draftsmen. The hospital carried 584 bed patients. [3]

Mare Island Naval Shipyeard constructed at least eighty-nine sea-going vessels. Among the more important ships & boats built were:
  • 1858 USS Saginaw – frigate, wood
  • 1872 USS Mohican – frigate, wood
  • 1875 USS Monadnock – monitor, steel
  • 1886 USS Cosmos – revenue cutter, wood
  • 1904 USS Intrepid – training ship, steel
  • 1907 USS Prometheus – collier, steel
  • 1911 USS Jupiter – collier, steel. Later converted to aircraft carrier USS Langley
  • 1913 USS Kanawha – tanker, steel
  • 1913 USS Guard – revenue cutter, steel
  • 1913 USS Palos – gunboat, steel
  • 1913 USS Monocacy – gunboat, steel
  • 1914 USS Maumee – tanker, steel
  • 1915 USS Cuyama – tanker, steel
  • 1916 USS Shaw , destroyer - steel
  • 1916 USS California – battleship, steel (32,500 ton)
  • 1916 USS Caldwell – destroyer, steel
  • 1917 Fifteen submarine chasers - wood
  • 1917 Fairfax – destroyer Destroyers for Bases Agreement [4]
  • 1917 Taylor – destroyer
  • 1918 Boggs – destroyer World War II
  • 1918 Kilty – destroyer Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • 1919 Kennison – destroyer World War II
  • 1918 Ward - destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor – Guadalcanal campaign - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • 1918 Claxton – destroyer Destroyers for Bases Agreement [4]
  • 1919 Hamilton – destroyer invasion of North Africa - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • 1920 Montana – battleship (43,200-ton) (scrapped under terms of the Washington Naval Treaty)
  • 1920 Litchfield – destroyer World War II
  • 1920 Zane – destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor – Guadalcanal campaign
  • 1921 Wasmuth – destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor
  • 1922 Trever – destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor – Guadalcanal campaign
  • 1922 Perry – destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor - Battle of Peleliu
  • 1922 Decatur – destroyer World War II
  • 1927 USS Nautilus – submarine 14 World War II Pacific patrols [6]
  • 1928 USS Chicago – cruiser Battle of Savo Island - Battle of Rennell Island
  • 1931 USS San Francisco – cruiser Attack on Pearl Harbor - Battle of Cape Esperance - Naval Battle of Guadalcanal - Battle of the Philippine Sea - Philippines campaign (1944-45) - Battle of Okinawa
  • 1934 USS Smith – destroyer Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands - Philippines campaign (1944-45)
  • 1934 USS Preston – destroyer Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands - Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
  • 1935 USS Henley – destroyer Attack on Pearl Harbor - Guadalcanal campaign
With the prelude to, and the outbreak of WW II, the Mare Island Naval Shipyard specialized in submarines, and other than a few submarine tenders, no more surface ships were built there. With the advent of underwater nuclear power in the mid-1950s, the shipyard became one of the few that built and overhauled nuclear submarines, including several UGM-27 Polaris submarines.
  • 1936 USS Pompano – submarine 7 World War II Pacific patrols [7]
  • 1936 USS Sturgeon – submarine 11 World War II Pacific patrols [8]
  • 1937 USS Swordfish – submarine 13 World War II Pacific patrols [9]
  • 1939 USS Fulton – submarine tender World War II
  • 1939 USS Tuna –submarine 13 World War II Pacific patrols [10]
  • 1939 USS Gudgeon – submarine 12 World War II Pacific patrols [11]
  • 1941 USS Sperry - submarine tender [12] World War II
  • 1941 USS Silversides - submarine [13] sank 23 ships in 14 World War II Pacific patrols (3rd highest number for a U.S. submarine) [14]
  • 1941 USS Trigger - submarine [13] sank 18 ships in 12 World War II Pacific patrols (11th highest number for a U.S. submarine) [16]
  • 1942 USS Bushnell - submarine tender [12] World War II
  • 1942 USS Wahoo - submarine [18] sank 20 ships in 7 World War II Pacific patrols (7th highest number for a U.S. submarine) [19]
  • 1942 USS Whale - submarine [18] 11 World War II Pacific patrols [21]
  • 1942 USS Sunfish - submarine [18] 11 World War II Pacific patrols [6]
  • 1942 USS Tunny - submarine [18] 9 World War II Pacific patrols [25] Vietnam War
  • 1942 USS Tinosa - submarine [18] 11 World War II Pacific patrols [25]
  • 1942 USS Tullibee - submarine [18] 4 World War II Pacific patrols [29]
  • 1943 USS Howard W. Gilmore - submarine tender [12] World War II
  • 1943 USS Seahorse - submarine [31] 8 World War II Pacific patrols [32]
  • 1943 USS Skate - submarine [31] 7 World War II Pacific patrols [25]
  • 1943 USS Tang - submarine [31] sank 24 ships in 5 World War II Pacific patrols (2nd highest number for a U.S. submarine) [36]
  • 1943 USS Tilefish - submarine [31] 6 World War II Pacific patrols [38]
  • 1944 USS Spadefish - submarine [39] sank 21 ships in 5 World War II Pacific patrols (5th highest number for a U.S. submarine) [14]
  • 1944 USS Trepang - submarine [39] 5 World War II Pacific patrols [21]
  • 1944 USS Spot - submarine [39] 3 World War II Pacific patrols [21]
  • 1944 USS Springer - submarine [39] 3 World War II Pacific patrols [21]
  • 1945 USS Nereus - submarine tender [12]
  • 1945 USS Stickleback - submarine [39] 1 World War II Pacific patrol [38]
  • 1947 USS Tiru - submarine [39]
thumb ballistic missile submarine USS Mariano G. Vallejo
  • 1957 USS Grayback - submarine [51]
  • 1957 USS Sargo - submarine [52]
  • 1959 USS Halibut - submarine [53]
  • 1959 USS Theodore Roosevelt - submarine [54]
  • 1960 USS Scamp - submarine [55]
  • 1961 USS Permit - submarine [56]
  • 1961 USS Plunger - submarine [56]
  • 1962 USS Andrew Jackson - submarine [58]
  • 1963 USS Woodrow Wilson - submarine [58]
  • 1963 USS Daniel Boone - submarine [58]
  • 1963 USS Stonewall Jackson - submarine [58]
  • 1965 USS Kamehameha - submarine [58]
  • 1965 USS Mariano G. Vallejo - submarine [58]
  • 1967 USS Gurnard - submarine [64]
  • 1968 USS Guitarro - submarine [64]
  • 1969 USS Hawkbill - submarine [64]
  • 1969 USS Pintado - submarine [64]
  • 1970 USS Drum - submarine [64]

Late years

In 1969, the US Navy transferred its (Vietnam War) Brown Water Navy Riverine Training Forces from Coronado, California, to Mare Island. Swift Boats (Patrol Craft Fast-PCF), and PBRs (Patrol Boat River), among other types of riverine craft, conducted boat operations through out the currently named Napa-Sonoma Marshes State Wildlife Area, which are located on the north and west portions of Mare Island. Mare Island Naval Base was deactivated during the 1995 cycle of US base closures, but the US Navy Reserves still have access to the water portions of the State Wildlife Area for any riverine warfare training being conducted from their new base in Sacramento, California.

Restoration and Reuse

In 1993, Congress approved the findings of the Base Realignment and Closure Commissions (BRAC) Report and closed Mare Island Naval Shipyard. [69] The shipyard had long been the economic engine of the City of Vallejo, having reached an employment peak of 40,000 workers during World War II, and even employing 10,000 workers after scaling back in 1988. When Congress ordered the base closure, the shipyard employed 5,800 workers. [70]

The vision of rebuilding Mare Island as a vital place where people lived and worked was a key goal in the base conversion planning process undertaken by the City of Vallejo in the early 1990s.

Preservation of many of Mare Island’s 661 structures and other cultural resources was an additional factor in the planning process. As the oldest shipyard and naval facility on the West Coast, the shipyard earned a National Historic Landmark designation by the Federal government in 1975. In 1979, California listed the entire naval base as a State Historical Landmark. In 1999, the City of Vallejo added Mare Island to the National Register of Historic Districts with 42 individual city landmarks.

Finally, as with any restoration of an industrial, brownfield landscape, both city and government agencies required environmental review, toxics removal, and soil mediation before any new development and reuse.

In 1998, the City of Vallejo contracted with Lennar Mare Island LLC to redevelop the island’s into a multi-use community. Lennar Corporation contracted the Sausalito-based SWA Group, to provide a Master Development Plan for Vallejo, additional historical research and landscape architectural services.

The final land-use plan SWA submitted to the City of Vallejo in 2005 divided Mare Island into 13 specific zones, including a university district, and industrial zone, historic core, and residential neighborhoods. In addition, 78% of the entire island was set aside for wildlife habitat and wetlands, parkland and open space, and dredge ponds. [71]

SWA’s site plan began with the island’s grid of small, tree-lined streets and extended them so that they terminate in dramatic views of the bay and river and a new public waterfront. The historic core was repurposed as a new town center with retail, entertainment attractions, and additional, higher-density housing. Other improvements included a new grove of Canary Island Palm trees and London Plane trees along the G Street corridor, one of two entry points on the island. This feature enhances a visitor’s sense of arrival and frames the long view of Mt. Tamalpais across the San Pablo Bay.

In 2007, Lennar Corp finished construction on three new residential neighborhoods. Farragut Village, with 277 new homes in a site layout and landscape pattern designed by SWA Group, was the first completed neighborhood. Additional neighborhoods include Coral Sea and Kirkland Isle II. When all construction is complete, Mare Island will have 1,400 homes and condos, plus of commercial, retail, entertainment, and industrial space. [72]

Mare Island’s new residents petitioned Lennar Corp. and the City of Vallejo to drop the dredge ponds, whose role had been to collect silt, drainage, and storm water from both the Napa River and the Bay and instead restore that acreage to wetlands. Both city officials and the developer agreed and in January 2006, the land use plan was amended to add the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve. An advisory board was appointed by the city to restore the site into publicly accessible parkland. [73]

Overall, the conversion and reuse of Mare Island will result in the of protected tidal and nontidal wetlands providing wintering habitat for thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl. For example, during the migrating season in February 2008, thousands of people attended the three-day San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival on Mare Island, cosponsored by Lennar Mare Island LLC. The event, which included an art show, exhibitors, and music, marked the annual return of more than a million shorebirds, ducks, geese, and hawks to the Bay Area. [74]

Access

Mare Island can be accessed by State Route 37 on its north side, as well as by Interstate 80 via the Mare Island Causeway and Tennessee Street, a designated route.

Mare Island is also the home of the Touro University, the US Forest Service , and the new administrative offices of the .

For information on visiting Mare Island, see:
For information on the Historic Nature of Vallejo, see:

Notes

  1. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 3-28.
  2. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 117-206.
  3. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 209-237.
  4. Fahey, ''The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet'', p.17
  5. Fahey, ''The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet'', p.17
  6. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.945
  7. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.907
  8. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.926
  9. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.939
  10. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.946
  11. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.919
  12. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  13. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.195
  14. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.953&965
  15. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.195
  16. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.945&965
  17. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  18. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  19. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.913&965
  20. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  21. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  22. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  23. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.945
  24. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  25. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  26. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  27. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  28. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  29. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.918
  30. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  31. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  32. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.956
  33. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  34. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  35. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  36. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.933&965
  37. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  38. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.957
  39. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  40. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.953&965
  41. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  42. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  43. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  44. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  45. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  46. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  47. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  48. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  49. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.957
  50. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  51. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.473
  52. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.472
  53. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.470
  54. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.406
  55. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.469
  56. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.468
  57. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.468
  58. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  59. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  60. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  61. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  62. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  63. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  64. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  65. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  66. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  67. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  68. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  69. title = City of Vallejo: Mare Island Base Closure FAQS | url = http://www.ci.vallejo.ca.us/GovSite/default.asp?serviceID1=163&Frame=L1
  70. title = The History of Base Realignments and Closures | url = www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/ commit/c650/downloads/Robles_brachistory.ppt
  71. title = Mare Island Regional Park Task Force | url = www.mareisland.org/anniversary/mareislandnarrative.pdf
  72. title = Lennar Mare Island - History | url = www.lennarmareisland.com/history.htm
  73. Title = New Vision Sought for Mare Island | url = http://www.sfbayjv.org/news_summaries/2006/march/New_vision_sought_for_Mare_Island.html
  74. title = San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival | url = www.sfbayflywayfestival.com/mareisland.htm


References

  1. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 3-28.
  2. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 117-206.
  3. Lott, ''A Long Line of Ships'', pp. 209-237.
  4. Fahey, ''The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet'', p.17
  5. Fahey, ''The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet'', p.17
  6. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.945
  7. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.907
  8. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.926
  9. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.939
  10. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.946
  11. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.919
  12. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  13. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.195
  14. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.953&965
  15. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.195
  16. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.945&965
  17. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  18. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  19. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.913&965
  20. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  21. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  22. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  23. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.945
  24. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  25. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  26. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  27. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  28. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.197
  29. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.918
  30. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  31. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  32. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.956
  33. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  34. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.953
  35. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  36. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.933&965
  37. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.199
  38. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.957
  39. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  40. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', pp.953&965
  41. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  42. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  43. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  44. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  45. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  46. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.954
  47. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.287
  48. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  49. Blair, ''Silent Victory vol 2'', p.957
  50. Silverstone, ''U.S. Warships of World War II'', p.203
  51. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.473
  52. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.472
  53. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.470
  54. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.406
  55. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.469
  56. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.468
  57. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.468
  58. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  59. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  60. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  61. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  62. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  63. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.403
  64. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  65. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  66. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  67. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  68. Blackman ''Jane's 1970-71'', p.466
  69. title = City of Vallejo: Mare Island Base Closure FAQS | url = http://www.ci.vallejo.ca.us/GovSite/default.asp?serviceID1=163&Frame=L1
  70. title = The History of Base Realignments and Closures | url = www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/ commit/c650/downloads/Robles_brachistory.ppt
  71. title = Mare Island Regional Park Task Force | url = www.mareisland.org/anniversary/mareislandnarrative.pdf
  72. title = Lennar Mare Island - History | url = www.lennarmareisland.com/history.htm
  73. Title = New Vision Sought for Mare Island | url = http://www.sfbayjv.org/news_summaries/2006/march/New_vision_sought_for_Mare_Island.html
  74. title = San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival | url = www.sfbayflywayfestival.com/mareisland.htm
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