Charlestown Navy Yard: Boston National Historical Park, Massachusetts

Boston National Historical Park Massachusetts
Produced by the Division of Publications National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, DC
Deep within Boston Harbor, Charlestown Navy Yard was birthplace, repair center, outfitting base, and port of refuge for thousands of U.S. naval vessels. This is the story of the yard, the ships it served, and the people who kept them seaworthy.
Boston Harbor; about 1870. Visible in the foreground are Charlestown Navy Yard’s timber dock (left) and dry dock (center left, with docked vessel). The ships anchored off the navy yard piers are (left) U.S.S. Ohio, the yard’s receiving ship (for housing recruits and sailors transferring between vessels), and U.S.S. Wabash “in ordinary” (that is, out of commission and in storage).
In 1803, U.S.S. Constitution was careened at a Boston wharf for recoppering before sailing for the Mediterranean to confront the Barbary States.
U.S. Naval Shipyards
Puget Sound Washington 1891-present Rebuilt five battleships damaged during 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Mare Island California 1853-1996 Established for naval expansion into Pacific. Hunter’s Point California 1939-1974 Repaired 600 ships during WW II. Long Beach California 1935-50; 1951-98 Reactivated for Korean War. In 1982, modernized battleship New Jersey for missiles. Pearl Harbor Hawaii 1900-present Serviced growing Pacific fleet after Spanish-American War. Damaged by Japanese air attack in 1941. Mound City Illinois 1862-74 Repair facility for Union’s Mississippi Squadron during Civil War. Pensacola Florida 1825-1911 Burned by Confederates during Civil War. Has served as air training facility since yard closing. Charleston South Carolina 1901-96 Specialized in the construction of destroyer escorts and LSTs in WW II. Strategically located Great Lakes shipyards built gunboats and sloops during the War of 1812. Presque Isle Pennsylvania 1812-25 Sackets Harbor New York 1812-1870s Washington District of Columbia 1800-83 Brooklyn New York 1800-1966 Portsmouth New Hampshire 1800-present Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1801-1995 Charlestown Massachusetts 1800-1974 Norfolk Virginia 1801-present Of the six original navy yards, only Norfolk and Portsmouth still service naval vessels. New London Connecticut 1868-83 During WW I was developed as major submarine base.