Dry Dock at Boston Navy Yard

Established in 1800, Charlestown Navy Yard (formally designated the Boston Naval Shipyard in 1945) played an important role in the birth, growth and continued effectiveness of the U.S. Navy. The men and women employed at the Charlestown Navy Yard built more than 200 warships, maintained and repaired thousands of others, and proved their worth in each of the Nation's wars throughout its 174-year history. The Yard, consisting of industrial buildings, cranes, dry docks, slips, piers, residences and military buildings, is situated along the southeastern Charlestown waterfront in Boston's inner harbor. Some of the historically significant structures located within the boundaries of Charlestown Navy Yard are Dry Dock 1, which was built in 1827 as one of the first two dry docks in the country; the ropewalk designed by Alexander Parris, which began operation in 1838; and the chain forge, built in 1904, where die-lock chain was invented and perfected for production in 1926.

Built between 1827 and 1833 the Charlestown Naval Dry Dock, Boston, Massachusetts and the Gosport Naval Dry Dock, Norfolk, Virginia are two of the earliest major structures of their type in the United States. Despite the lack of scientific knowledge of hydraulics and geotechnology at the time, Loammi Baldwin II and his associated engineers successfully completed these projects which served the U.S. Navy for well over a century.