First U.S. Naval Station in the Pacific

The bronze counts the Navy's Pacific firsts: shipyard, ammunition depot, hospital, Marine barracks, cemetery, chapel and radio station. David Farragut, ten years before Mobile Bay, took command on September 16, 1854, on a site Commodore John Sloat's commission chose in 1852. The yard built and repaired warships for more than a century, submarines among them through the Cold War, and the Navy closed it in 1996. The bronze stands in a small park at the old approach to the island, among cannon from USS Independence and USS Warren that carry their own markers.

What the plaque says

First U.S. Naval Station in the Pacific Mare Island Navy Yard was established September 16, 1854, by the then Commander David G. Farragut, USN. Site selected in 1852 by a commission headed by Commodore John D. Sloat, USN. Mare Island had the Navy's first shipyard, ammunition depot, hospital, Marine barracks, cemetery, chapel, and radio station in the Pacific. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 751 Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the Solano County Historical Society, December 18, 1960.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Site of State Capitol at Vallejo — 0.7 mi
• The Old Homestead — 4.4 mi
• Turner/Robertson Shipyard, 1883-1918 — 5.7 mi
• Site of First Protestant Church — 7.0 mi