The Navy is no stranger to Duluth

Recent discussions about the cruiser USS Des Moines have generated a great deal of interest in the historical connections between Duluth and the Navy.

Twin Ports shipyards distinguished themselves in the two world wars by turning out nearly 300 hulls of various types for national defense. Duluth also has contributed mightily to the Navy's manpower resources and it has always enjoyed a special bond with the service.

The Minnesota Naval Militia was authorized in 1903 to train men for the Navy. Similar programs were organized in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and New York; the Navy provided decommissioned vessels for their use. The paddle wheel gunboat USS Michigan was actually built for Great Lakes service in 1844 and stationed at Erie, Pa., for the next 102 years; she was renamed Wolverine in 1904 when the larger battleship USS Michigan was constructed, but she remained at Erie until 1946.

The steam frigate USS Yantic (1863) was turned over to the Michigan Naval Militia at Detroit in 1900 for training purposes. The similar USS Essex (1876) was brought into the Lakes in 1904 for the Ohio Naval Militia; she was berthed at Toledo. The former yachts USS Hawk (1891) and USS Dorothea (1897) were stationed at Cleveland and Chicago respectively. The 160-foot USS Gopher (1871), a former lighthouse tender, was sent to Duluth in July 1905.

(Boatswain Carl 'Ole" Olsen and the ship's mascot take a break on the deck of YP-61 in 1937. The USS Paducah lies at dock in the background)

All of the naval vessels drilled militiamen in boat handling, weaponry, beach assaults, navigation skills and signaling, aside from several specialties. The men trained on board throughout the year and each made a two-week cruise during the summer, when the ships gathered at South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan for maneuvers and gunnery practice.

The Gopher berthed at Fifth Avenue West on the downtown Duluth waterfront during her first years here, and she was given dock space at 15th Street on Park Point around 1910.

The 185-foot USS Essex was transferred from Toledo in 1917 to join the Gopher at Duluth, and the two served here together for the next several years, although the Gopher was often sent to the new Great Lakes Naval Training Station near Chicago. Gopher was sent to the Atlantic coast in 1921, and the more modern USS Paducah was brought to Duluth to berth alongside the Essex on Park Point. Hundreds of reservists were trained aboard the two vessels during the next years.

The old Essex was dismantled at Duluth in 1928 and burned off Park Point in 1930; her remains may still be seen there, near the Superior Entry. The much smaller YP-61 took her place in 1936, but was requisitioned for active service on the coast in October 1940.

The Paducah was sent to the Atlantic in November 1940 with a crew of 161 Minnesota Reservists, many of whom never returned. The Paducah was subsequently used for gunnery training on Chesapeake Bay, and then she ended up as the Israeli passenger steamer Geulah. She was scrapped in 1949.

After the war, the modern sub-chaser PC-782 served the Port for several years, but Duluth has not had its own training ship now for more than 40 years. Since then, however, the nearly annual visits of naval ships have attracted significant numbers of Minnesota recruits, and the bonds with the Navy remain strong.

Pat Labadie is Director of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Duluth.