Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard ( MINSY ) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean . It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo , California . The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard ( Mare Island , California ) from the main portion of the city of Vallejo . MINSY made a name for itself as the premier US West Coast submarine port as well as serving as the controlling force in San Francisco Bay Area shipbuilding efforts during World War II . The base closed in 1996 and has gone through several redevelopment phases . It was registered as a California Historical Landmark in 1960 , and parts of it were declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1975 . Beginnings . The Navy purchased the original 956 acres ( 3 . 9 km² ) of MINSY 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 torpedoes , full speed ahead ! " MINSY served as a major Pacific Ocean repair station during the late 19th century , handling American as well as Japanese and Russian vessels in the course of duty . In 1861 , the longest lived of the clipper ships , " Syren " , was brought to Mare Island Navy Yard for $ 15 , 000 of repairs . " Syren " had struck Mile Rock two times while beating out of the Golden Gate . Marines first arrived for duty in 1862 under the command of Maj . Addison Garland , who was the first officer to command the Marine barracks on the island . By 1901 , this shipyard , Union Iron Works , was contracted out by John Philip Holland ' s ( Holland Torpedo Boat Company ) to build two " Adder " - class ( later " A " - class ) submarine s . They were known as USS " Grampus " / " A - 3 " and USS " Pike " / " A - 5 " and were the first United States Navy submarines built on the West Coast . Mare Island Naval Shipyard also took a commanding role in civil defense and emergency response on the West Coast , dispatching warships to the Pacific Northwest to subdue Native American uprisings . MINSY sent ships such as south to Central America and the Panama Canal to protect US political and commercial interests . Some of the support , logistics and munition requirements for the Spanish - American War were filled by Mare Island . MINSY sent men , materiel and ships to San Francisco in response to the fires following the 1906 earthquake . Arctic rescue missions were mounted as necessary . Ordnance manufacturing and storage were two further key missions at MINSY for nearly all of its active service , including ordnance used prior to the American Civil War . In 1911 , the Marine Corps established two West Coast recruit training depot s first at Mare Island , the second at Puget Sound , Washington . Mare Island eventually became the West Coast ’ s only recruit training facility when the Puget Sound operation consolidated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1912 . Instructors trained recruits there until Aug . 10 , 1923 , when they relocated to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego . World War I . In March 1917 MINSY was the site of a major explosion of barges loaded with munitions . The blast killed 6 people , wounded another 31 , and destroyed some port facilities . Agents of U . S . Military Intelligence tied the blast to roving German saboteur Lothar Witzke , who was caught and imprisoned in 1918 . MINSY saw major shipbuilding efforts during World War I . MINSY holds a shipbuilding speed record for a destroyer that still stands , launching the in just 17½ days in May – June 1918 . Mare Island was selected by the Navy for construction of the only US West Coast - built dreadnought battleship , the , launched in 1919 . Earlier , the USS Nebraska ( BB - 14 ) had been launched at Seattle Washington . Noting the power of underwater warfare shown by German U - boats in WWI , the Navy doubled their Pacific - based submarine construction program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard by founding a submarine program at MINSY in the early 1920s . World War II . Base facilities included a hospital , ammunition depot , paint and rubber testing laboratories , and schools for firefighters , opticians , and anti - submarine attack during World War II . MINSY reached peak capacity for shipbuilding , repair , overhaul , and maintenance of many different kinds of seagoing vessels including both surface combatants and submarines . Up to 50 , 000 workers were employed . Mare Island even received Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers and four Soviet Navy subs for service . Following the War , MINSY was considered to be one of the primary stations for construction and maintenance of the Navy ' s Pacific fleet of submarines , having built seventeen submarines and four submarine tenders by the end of hostilities . War bonds . Patriotism and " esprit de corps " among the workers ran very high . Mare Island ' s military and civilian workforce raised almost $ 76M in war bonds ; enough to pay for every one of the submarines built at MINSY prior to VJ Day . More than 300 landing craft were built at Mare Island . Shipbuilding . Mare Island Naval Shipyard constructed at least eighty - nine seagoing vessels . Among the more important ships & boats built were : With the prelude to , and the outbreak of World War II , the Mare Island Naval Shipyard specialized in submarine s , and other than a few submarine tenders , no more surface ships were built there . MINSY continued building non - nuclear subs through the Cold War including two of the three s and the , an early guided missile launcher . In 1955 , Mare Island was awarded the contract to build , the first nuclear submarine laid down at a $ 3 base . The shipyard became one of the few that built and overhauled nuclear submarines , including several UGM - 27 Polaris submarines . 1970 saw the launching of USS " Drum " , the last nuclear submarine built in California . In 1972 , the Navy officially ceased building new nuclear submarines at Mare Island , though overhaul of existing vessels continued . The was decommissioned at Mare Island in 1980 , then rigged for towing back to Groton , Connecticut to serve as a museum of naval history . Riverine training . In 1969 , during the Vietnam War , the US Navy transferred their Brown Water Navy Riverine Training Operations from Coronado , California to Mare Island . Motorists traveling along Highway 37 from the Vallejo / Fairfield areas to the Bay Area , which passes through Mare Island , could often see US Navy Swift Boats ( PCF - Patrol Craft Fast ) and PBRs ( Patrol Boat River ) , among other riverine type boats , maneuvering through the slough s of what is now the 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 navigable waters are considered public property . The US Navy Brown Water Riverine Forces inactivated after the Vietnam War , maintaining only the US Naval Reserve PBRs and auxiliary craft at Mare Island , until the 1996 base closure . Base closure . Mare Island Naval Shipyard expanded to over in its service life and was responsible for construction of over 500 naval vessels and overhauling thousands of other vessels . Though it remained a strong contender for continued operations , MINSY 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 California , 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 " ; 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 Fish and Wildlife Service refuge , a Forest Service office building , an Army Reserve Center , a Coast Guard communications facility , and a Department of Education school .