Drydock Number One is the oldest operational

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

facility in the United States. Located in

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, it was put into service in 1834, and has been in service since then. Its history includes the refitting of , which was modified to be the

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1971. and

Description and history

Drydock Number One is located on the west side of the central branch of the Elizabeth River. It measures in length, and is built of Massachusetts

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

, stepped to allow access to and bracing of ships under repair. Stairs at the land end provide access to the various levels. The drydock can accommodate a maximum vessel length of with a beam. Depth is . the dock can be dewatered in 40 minutes and flooded in 90 minutes. The drydock was built between 1827 and 1834, and cost $974,365.65, a very high price at that time. It may have been designed by

Loammi Baldwin Jr. Loammi Baldwin Jr. (May 16, 1780 – June 30, 1838) was an American civil engineer. His father was Col. Loammi Baldwin, a prominent civil engineer. Biography Baldwin was born at North Woburn, Massachusetts living at Baldwin House aka "The Bal ...

, then the Navy's superintendent of drydocks, and its construction was overseen by William P. S. Sanger, a civil engineer. The drydock was first used in June 1833, when was drydocked for recommissioning, the first time a large vessel was drydocked in the United States. During the opening phase of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in April 1861, Union forces were dispatched from Washington on the USS ''Pawnee'' to assist in destroying military assets as the shipyard was being abandoned; however, efforts to blow-up the dry dock were unsuccessful. The shipyard was then taken over by the

, which was a severe blow to the Union, and it was here that was modified to become the

. Today, ''Drydock Number One'' is still in operation, used primarily to service

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

vessels.

References

{{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Buildings and structures in Portsmouth, Virginia 1827 establishments in Virginia Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Water transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, Virginia Drydocks United States Navy shipyards Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks

Description and history

See also

References