On June 17, 1834 the first drydock in the western hemisphere opened in the lesser known town of Portsmouth, Virginia. The Drydock was built to host the 74-gun ship-of-the-line USS Delaware in the "Gosport" Naval Shipyard. If that, name is not so familiar to you, it's because in 1862, it was renamed "Norfolk Naval Shipyard" after the largest city in the area. The Drydock was part of the U.S. Navy's oldest shipyard, predating the United States Navy Department by 31 years. Gosport Shipyard was originally established by a British merchant on the western shore of the Elizabeth River, serving under the British flag. The Colony of Virginia confiscated the property during the Revolutionary war, but the British burned the shipyard. Construction of the drydock began in 1827. One year later, President John Quincy Adams reported on it's progress in his State of the Union Address. Adams simply stated that, "[t]he construction of the two dry docks at Charlestown and at Norfolk is making satisfactory progress toward a durable establishment". The drydock took 7 years to complete at a cost of $974,365.65, and was put into service in 1834. Interestingly, Thomas Jefferson had proposed construction of a dry dock, 25 years earlier and had Benjamin Latrobe, one of the architects for the Capitol building draw up plans. The total cost including the locks to build a dry dock large enough to house 12 44-gun frigates was rejected by Congress and even became subject to ridicule.
Dry Dock Number One was first used in June of 1833, when the USS Delaware was drydocked for recommissioning. This was the first time a large vessel was drydocked in the United States. The Drydock was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971, and is still in use. The Drydock measures 319.5 feet and is built of Massachusetts granite formed into steps to allow access below the ships for bracing. The Chalestown drydock that Adams referred to, was Dry Dock 1 being built at the same time at the Charlestown Naval yard. The Charlestown dock was put into service in 1833 to host the USS Constitution. The dock was originally 341 feet, but was expanded in 1860 to 357 feet and again in 1948 to 415 feet.
Along with the Drydocks, Adams wrote about plans for a "marine railway" at Pensacola. These plans still did not prove practical and were postponed for the time being. A marine railway is used to carry a ship into and out of the water. In addition, Adams talked of improvements at existing naval yards along with two additional ones to be added. Here, Adams referred to Norfolk as Gosport, which is quite interesting since this was almost 40 years before Gosport would be renamed to Norfolk, yet Adams seemed to use the terms interchangeably.
"The construction of the two dry docks at Charlestown and at Norfolk is making satisfactory progress toward a durable establishment. The examinations and inquiries to ascertain the practicability and expediency of a marine railway at Pensacola, though not yet accomplished, have been post-poned but to be more effectually made. The navy yards of the United States have been examined, and plans for their improvement and the preservation of the public property therein at Portsmouth, Charlestown, Philadelphia, Washington, and Gosport, and to which 2 others are to be added, have been prepared and received my sanction; and no other portion of my public duties has been performed with a more intimate conviction of its importance to the future welfare and security of the Union."
References
Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2018). John Quincy Adams: Fourth Annual Message. [online] Available at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29470 [Accessed 26 Jun. 2018].
Museum, U. (2018). History of Dry Dock 1, Charlestown Navy Yard: An Overview - USS Constitution Museum. [online] USS Constitution Museum. Available at: https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/2015/05/07/history-of-dry-dock-1/ [Accessed 3 Jul. 2018].
Navsea.navy.mil. (2018). History. [online] Available at: http://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Shipyards/Norfolk/About-Us/History/ [Accessed 3 Jul. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Drydock Number One, Norfolk Naval Shipyard. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drydock_Number_One,_Norfolk_Naval_Shipyard [Accessed 3 Jul. 2018].
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/DrydockNumber1.jpg
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