Farragut Naval Training Station was a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

training center during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in the

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. It was located in Northern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

at the south end of

Lake Pend Oreille Lake Pend Oreille ( ) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of . It is long, and deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deep ...

at Bayview, between Coeur d'Alene and The base was named after the first admiral in the and the leading naval officer during the The site became

Farragut State Park Farragut State Park is a public recreation area located at the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Idaho Panhandle in the northwest United States. The state park is east of Athol in Kootenai County, about n ...

in 1966.

World War II

Ground was broken on the naval reservation in March 1942, and its first phase opened in early August; by September the base had a population of 55,000, making it the largest "city" in the state. At the time, Farragut was the second-largest training center in the world (behind Naval Station Great Lakes near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

), and

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

trains ran three times daily to

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

, about an hour away. Rail service aboard the station was provided by the Northern Pacific Railway over a 5½-mile (9 km) line that connected to the NP main line at Athol. The first freight train reached the facility on 5 June 1942. A shipment of 75 lifeboats, removed from passenger liners held in port by war restrictions, was received in June 1942, and Wallace-born movie star

Lana Turner Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized pe ...

, who was promoting

War Bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...

to base contract employees, made an The installation was formally activated in mid-September; a few days later, it was visited by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Rooseve ...

, part of a nationwide tour which was kept secret until he returned to the In 1942, Lt. Commander Henry T. McMaster, supervisor of support services at the station, contracted photographer Ross Hall to produce group and portrait photos of all recruits and companies. Operator of a studio in nearby Sandpoint, Hall employed up to fifteen workers in creating a photographic archive of more than 300,000 images. The base was used as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camp in 1945, run by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

; nearly 900

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, most captured shortly after D-Day, worked as gardeners and maintenance The POW's removed of snow from the football field just prior to the game against the visiting

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

on 10 November,

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

. Migrating deer were a traffic hazard and hunting was prohibited on federal property. Over 293,000 sailors received basic training at Farragut during its 30 months of existence. The last recruit graduated in March 1945 and the facility was decommissioned in

Post-war

From 1946–49, it was the site of the Farragut College and Technical Institute, which had copious athletic It ceased operations prior to the fall term in 1949, due to decreased enrollment and financial difficulties. In 1950, were transferred to the

Idaho Department of Fish and Game The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) is the Idaho state department which is responsible for preserving and managing Idaho's wildlife, including mammals, fish, birds, plants, and invertebrates. History The Idaho Department of Fish and Ga ...

and became

Farragut Wildlife Management Area Farragut Wildlife Management Area at is an Idaho wildlife management area in Kootenai County that borders Farragut State Park. The area was formerly the Farragut Naval Training Station established in 1942 and decommissioned in 1946. The land was ...

. In 1964, were transferred back to the federal government. This land was then deeded back to the state of Idaho and became

A remaining military feature of the state park is the Museum at the Brig, located in the confinement facility of the naval training station. Its displays include boot camp, naval, and war memorabilia as well as historic prison cells. Don Samuelson, a future

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, was stationed at Farragut as a weapons instructor. Originally from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in the Midwest, he stayed in Sandpoint after the war and was elected governor in 1966. The Drill Hall at the base was shipped to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

after the war and became the University of Denver Arena, which served for nearly a half century as the home of DU Pioneers ice hockey; it was razed in 1997 to make way for the current Magness Arena. The Navy has maintained a presence on

at Bayview with its Acoustic Research Detachment, part of the Carderock Division of the

Naval Surface Warfare Center * A Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy. NAVSEA Warfare Centers supply the technical operations, people, technology, engineering services and products needed t ...

. In the deep () and isolated waters of Lake Pend Oreille, scaled-down prototypes of submarines are tested; a free-field ocean-like environment is available without the problems

References

External links

Idaho Military Museum
– Farragut, Idaho
Visit Idaho
– Museum at the brig at Farragut State Park
YouTube
– ''America's Landlocked Navy: Farragut's WWII Memories'' – PBS – KSPS Spokane (1999)
Acoustic Research Detachment
{{Authority control Training installations of the United States Navy World War II prisoner of war camps in the United States Buildings and structures in Kootenai County, Idaho Military installations closed in 1946 1942 establishments in Idaho 1946 disestablishments in Idaho Closed installations of the United States Navy

World War II

Post-war

See also

References

External links