Pelham Bay Naval Training Station

Pelham Bay Naval Training Station was a WWI era US Navy training facility located in Pelham Bay Park's Rodman's Neck in the Bronx.[1] Located near City Island, and Westchester county, it was operational from 1917 to 1919.[2]

Pelham Bay Naval Training Station
Rodman's Neck, Pelham Bay Park, The Bronx in United States
Coordinates	40°51′58″N 73°48′37″W
Site information
Owner	City of New York
Operator	US Navy
Site history
Built	1917
Built by	Ewing & Allen, Architects
In use	1917 - 1919
Fate	Demolished
Garrison information
Past commanders	Commander William B. Franklin (until February 25, 1919) Captain Julian Lane Latimer, February 25, 1919 -

History

Prior to the creation of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station, a national guard base was set up in the heart of Pelham Bay Park. The 280 acre[3] site was designed by the architectural firm of Ewing & Allen[4] and included a ninety acre hospital.[3]

The camp also featured entertainment facilities provided by the Knights of Columbus, the Y.M.C.A.,[4][5] and other organizations including the American Red Cross and the American Library Association.

Curriculum

The camp offered a number of sequential training courses, with mastery of a given course being required to advance to the next one.[3]

• First: Inoculation period of 21 days in the Isolation Camp (also known as the "Probation Camp").[4] During this time, the trainee also learned about naval regulations and some basic seamanship topics.[3]
• Second: Month-long seamanship course.[3]
• Third: If qualified - Three weeks of either Petty Officer's School, Radio school, Quartermaster School, Gunnery School, or Boatswain Mate schools.[3]
• Fourth: If qualified - Two months of Officers' Material School or the Naval Auxiliary School.[3]

Influenza pandemic of 1918

The camp suffered from the Influenza pandemic of 1918 from late September 21 through late October 21, 1918, and again in December 1918.[6][7] There were 2,399 cases of influenza, with a total of 145 deaths.[6]

Personnel

Commandants

Pelham Bay Naval Training Station turned over from Commander William B. Franklin to Captain Julian L. Latimer.

• Commander William B. Franklin until February 25, 1919
• Captain Julian Lane Latimer, captain of USS Rhode Island, assumed command of the Pelham Bay Naval Training Station New York, February 25, 1919 - later Judge Advocate General of the Navy 1921 - 1925

Librarians

A number of Queens Borough Public Library staff members took a leave of absence, and were placed at the Naval station via the efforts of the American Library Association. The station's library staff included:

• Blanche Galloway - Librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Jamaica Branch Librarian.[8]
• Wilhelmina Harper - Assistant librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Jamaica Branch Children's librarian.
• Amy E. Doncourt - Hospital librarian. Queens Borough Public Library Flushing Branch assistant librarian.[9][10]

Other personnel

Pelham Bay Navy Second Class Patch of Fred Dedert

• Richard W. Dorgan - served at the naval station.
• James F. Duffy - served at the naval station.
• Humphrey Bogart - The actor was one of the trainees.[11]
• Edward G. Robinson - The actor was one of the trainees.[12]

See also

• USS Idalis (SP-270) - A Bronx built ship that was used for training and patrol duties.[13]
• J. Rich Steers, Inc. - Then known as Henry Steers, Inc. constructed some or all of the barracks.[14][15]

First Training Regiment, Pelham Bay Naval Training Camp, Bronx, NYC

Sailors from Pelham Bay Naval Training Station marching down Fifth Avenue in the Fourth Liberty Loan Parade, New York City.

Map of the earlier National Guard Camp north of the Naval Training Station

References

1. Ells, Mark D. Van (2015). America and World War I. Interlink Publishing. p. Chapter 5. ISBN 9781623710675. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
2. Twomey, Bill (2007). The Bronx, in Bits and Pieces. AuthorHouse. p. 103. ISBN 9781600080623. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
3. Rockwell, T. R. (November 1918). "What A Naval Training Station Really Is" (magazine). MotorBoating. XXII (4): 8–9, 20. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
4. Ewing & Allen, Architects (1918). "The Pelham Bay Naval Reserve Training Station". The Architectural Forum. Billboard Publications. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
5. Lloyd, Nelson (1918). How we went to war. New York, C. Scribner's sons. pp. 134–138. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
6. "HyperWar: SecNav: Misc. Reports 1919: Influenza". www.ibiblio.org. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
7. "Influenza spread in US Navy September 1918". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
8. Galloway, Blanche (1918). "A Woman Among Ten Thousand Bluejackets". Bulletin of the American Library Association. American Library Association. XII (January - November 1918): 222–225. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
9. "ALA Handbook". Bulletin of the American Library Association. American Library Association. 10 (January - November 1916): 628. 1916.
10. "Public Libraries". 25 (1). Chicago: Library Bureau. January 1920: 225. Retrieved 23 February 2018. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. "Did You Know? Fun Facts About NYC's Parks | THIRTEEN - New York Public Media". THIRTEEN - New York Public Media. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
12. Beck, Robert. Edward G. Robinson Encyclopedia. McFarland. p. 334. Retrieved March 1, 2018. edward g robinson world war one.
13. "Idalis (S. P. 270)". www.history.navy.mil. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
14. Newark Advocate article, 08/10/1917 "General Strike May Stop Work on Army Camps"
15. St. Petersburg Independent article, 08/10/1917 "Settle Strike By Agreement"

Further reading

• Trippett, Josephine (1918). "Sketch of a Naval Emergency Hospital". The American Journal of Nursing. 18 (8): 683–687. doi:10.2307/3405867. JSTOR 3405867. – An eyewitness account of the training station by one of the American Red Cross nurses