MARE ISLAND

'Mare Island' is a peninsula in Vallejo, California, about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side, the Carquinez Strait its south end, and San Pablo Bay its western side. Mare island is considered part of a peninsula because on the north no full body of water separates this or several other named "islands" from the mainland. Instead, a series of small sloughs nearly separates several chunks of dry land from each other; in extremely wet weather, the sloughs can in fact make the chunks appear to be separate islands. Mare Island is the largest of these at about 3.5 miles long and a mile wide.
This area was part of Rancho Soscol, deeded to General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo in 1844. According to the story, his favorite white mare fell off a raft while being transported across the Carquinez Straits and avoided drowning by swimming to an island, which he named ''Isla de la Yegua'' (Mare Island) in her honor.
The Napa River widens and forms an excellent harbor between Mare Island and the mainland. The United States bought Mare Island in July, 1852, for use as a naval shipyard. Two years later, on September 16, 1854, Mare Island became the first permanent U.S. naval installation on the west coast, with Admiral David G. Farragut, United States Navy, as Mare Island's first base commander. Twelve years later, during the US Civil War, (US) Admiral Farragut would gain fame during the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, with his order of "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Mare Island was used for more than a century as the United States Navy's Mare Island Naval Shipyard. In 1969, the US Navy transferred its (Vietnam War) Brown Water Navy Riverine Training Forces from Coronado, California to Mare Island. Swift Boats (Patrol Craft Fast-PCF), and PBR's (Patrol Boat River), among other types of riverine craft, conducted boat operations through out the currently named Napa-Sonoma Marshes State Wildlife Area, which are located on the north and west portions of Mare Island. USS Midway nuclear engineer Bruce Hills Easley served at the base during this time. Mare Island Naval Base was deactivated during the 1995 cycle of US base closures, but the US Navy Reserves still have access to the water portions of the State Wildlife Area for any riverine training being conducted from their new base in Sacramento, California.
Mare Island is also the home of Touro University and the new administrative offices of the Vallejo City Unified School District.
For information on the Historic Nature of Vallejo, see:

★ Vallejo Architectural Heritage Foundation

★ Vallejo City Park Preservation site

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Reference

★ Steffes, James, ENC Retired: "Swift Boat Down- The Real Story of the Sinking of PCF-19." (2006) ISBN 1-59926-612-1.

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