Mare Island - A Place of "Firsts"

Mare Island - A Place of "Firsts". . Four years after California became a state in 1850, the U.S. Navy commissioned Mare Island Shipyard, the first naval installation on the Pacific. Over 500 vessels, from wooden sailing ships to atomic submarines, were built at Mare Island and thousands more were repaired here. In addition to the shipyard, Mare Island was home to the Navy's first hospital and radio communications center on the West Coast, and the first interdenominational chapel in the country. , On April 1, 1996, the U.S. Navy closed the shipyard and began transferring ownership to the City of Vallejo, California State Lands Commission and various federal agencies. Mare Island is undergoing a remarkable transformation from a naval shipyard to a new mixed-use community of homes, manufacturing plants and retail businesses tucked between historic districts, natural lands and regional parks. Thanks to the successful partnership between the U.S. Navy, the City of Vallejo, the California State Lands Commission and Weston Solutions Inc., this is the first nature trail to be opened on the island and the first fully accessible trail along the marshlands of San Pablo Bay.