Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
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The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships.
Despite its name, the shipyard is neither in Portsmouth nor even in the state of New Hampshire. It is located on the other side of the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the state of Maine, occupying the whole of Seavey Island in the river. Many of the personnel working at the shipyard live in nearby Kittery, Maine. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is also sometimes confused with Norfolk Naval Shipyard, which is in Portsmouth, Virginia.
The yard was established in June 1800, making it the oldest continuously-operating shipyard of the Navy. Its first ship was the 74-gun ship of the line Washington, launched in 1814.
It is also the home of "The Castle", a former military prison which derives its name from the resemblance to a medieval castle. This building was the primary prison for the Navy and Marine Corps, as well as housing many German U-Boat crews after capture, until it closed in 1974.
The Portsmouth Navy Yard hosted the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War. For his efforts arranging the treaty, President Theodore Roosevelt won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. Diplomats from both nations stayed at the grand Victorian hotel, Wentworth by the Sea, across the Piscataqua River in New Castle, NH, and were ferried daily to negotiations at the base. In 2005, a summer-long series of events were held marking the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, including a visit by a Navy destroyer, a parade and a re-enactment of the arrival of diplomats from the two warring nations. The treaty was signed at 3:47 p.m. on September 5, 1905, marked by an honor guard, the firing of a 19-gun salute and the ringing of area church bells. Those sounds were to be duplicated in 2005 when the signing was re-enacted. [link], [link]
In 1994, the Shipyard was placed on EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) for environmental investigations/restorations under CERCLA (Superfund). In 2005, the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Committee) placed the Portsmouth Navy Yard on a list for base closures, effective by 2008. Employees organized the Save Our Shipyard campaign in an effort to influence the committee to reverse its decision. On August 24, 2005, the base was taken off the list.
Recently, there has been controversy within the Shipyard. Both Maine and New Hampshire laid claim to the naval base until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Maine. However, residents of the area in each state still have strong opinions on the topic of ownership. If it belongs to New Hampshire, base employees from that state would no longer be required to pay Maine income tax. On August 15, 2001, Dover, New Hampshire resident Victor Burre and seven others, in an act of rebellion against the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision to dismiss New Hampshire's assertion of ownership of Seavey Island, laid claim to the island in the name of the State of New Hampshire.[link] A lack of further information on the rebellion would suggest that the "militia" was probably unarmed and withdrew peacefully. Meanwhile, the state line remains at the middle of the Piscataqua River.
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