Mare Island Historic Park Foundation

Mare Island Historic Park Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Publicly Supported Organization established in 1995. Our Mission is to preserve and present to the public the history of the West's first Naval Base and Shipyard.

David Glasgow Farragut founded the Mare Island Shipyard in 1854, and the Navy closed the yard in 1996. During that period, over 500 ships, including nuclear submarines, were built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

The Foundation cares for four of the most historic buildings in Mare Island's National Historic Landmark District:

St. Peter's Chapel (built 1901) - renowned for the beautiful Tiffany designed stained glass windows

Quarters "A" (built 1900) - Largest (10,500 sq. ft.) of the 13 colonial revival mansions

Quarters "B" - A mansion of 7400 sq. ft also called the "Captain's Mansion"

Building 46 (built 1855) - Originally a smithery, then the pipe shop, now the Artifacts Museum

Another part of the Mission is to create ship museum displays. We are currently conducting a major effort to acquire the USS OLYMPIA; the MIHPF is caretaker for the sail of SSBN 658 Mariano G. Vallejo in its move to a permanent display on Mare Island; and USS LCS-102 is now at the Mare Island Waterfront. See Ships page for more information.