Farragut Naval Training Station
by Bob Gunter
The community Hall in Sandpoint, Idaho took on a national function in 1942. The YMCA leased the hall from the city for $1 a year to be used as a USO club for the sailors stationed at the Naval Training Station in Farragut, Idaho. With a population of about 42,000, Farragut was the largest town in Idaho, and its close proximity to Sandpoint impacted the city in many ways. The high wages offered, as high as a dollar an hour in some cases, drew people from Sandpoint to Farragut. The cute girls of Sandpoint drew many of the men of Farragut to Sandpoint.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 was the causal factor for the need for more training facilities in the United States. The great losses of the US fleet were known nation wide and men flocked to enlist in the navy.
USO Club in Sandpoint, Idaho Currently The Sandpoint Community Hall.
In June of 1942 over 40,000 men joined the navy. Numbers like this made it a necessity for more training facilities and in March of 1942 the news that Lake Pend Oreille had been chosen was released. The Walter Butler Company of St. Paul, Minnesota was chosen to construct the station.
In May of 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt named the new site in Idaho Farragut after the famous Union Admiral David G. Farragut. It was Admiral Farragut who said during the raid of Mobile Bay, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."
The training station was to have six training units designed for 5,000 men. After a unit was completed the training started while the next unit was under construction. The station also had a school area designed for 5,000 personnel. The hospital eventually had 2,000 beds dedicated to caring for the Farragut trainees and staff. A housing project for 300 Navy families was built; there were also five dormitories, officer's quarters, an auditorium, a recreational building, and two chapels on the base. Add to this the auxiliary buildings necessary to maintain a station of over 30,000 people and it is easy to see why Farragut was Idaho's largest town.
As each unit was completed it was named in honor of navy men who had been killed in action and who had received the Congressional Medal of Honor. They were, Captain Mervyn Bennion, Seaman 1st Class James Ward, Lt. Commander John C. Waldron, Rear Admiral Norman Scott, Chief Watertender Oscar Peterson, and Commander Howard Gilmore.
Thousands of men and women trained at the United States Naval Training Station at Farragut, Idaho and each year many "old salts" return to renew friendships made long ago. Farragut is not the same as they knew it. Nearly all of the buildings are gone but as these men and women stand in what is now a state park they see what others cannot see. Through their memories they can see the Farragut of the war years and remember what it was like both good and bad.
To see more great old photos of Sandpoint and the surrounding areas :: Click Here ::
All photographs have been used with permission of the Bonner County Museum.
Old Sandpoint
To experience the charm of a town one must live there. Bob Selle is an old-timer in the Sandpoint area. Here, in his own words, he gives us a peek at a young person's...
Early Sandpoint "Hang Town"
Today Sandpoint, Idaho is known for its beautiful lake and majestic mountains. It is known as a good place to find serenity and a sense of peace. But the Sandpoint...
McFarland House
The old building is called the McFarland House by practically everyone that lives in the Sandpoint, Idaho area. It is located on the corner of Highway 95...
The Fish House
The whistle of the strange looking craft broke the silence as it pulled away from the City Docks of Sandpoint...
Street Cars
In the early days of Sandpoint, Idaho there was quite a transportation problem. For most people there were two ways of getting around-walk or ride a horse...
USO Club
The community Hall in Sandpoint, Idaho took on a national function in 1942. The YMCA leased the hall from the city for $1 a year to be used as a USO club...
2nd Sandpoint Hospital
It was on May 23, 1903 that the Northern Idaho News heralded the opening of Sandpoint's second hospital by stating, " Dr. Ones F. Page established a hospital...
First School
In the early years of the pioneer town called Sandpoint, it was a struggle for parents to educate their children. Funds had to be subscribed to hire the teachers...
Along the Wild Horse Trail
Long before the white man came there was a trail. The Indians for time immemorial had used it. The old trail started on the Spokane River and ran through...
Bonner County Poor Farm
Pat Gooby has lived in Sandpoint all his life and as a child did chores at the old County Poor Farm. I asked Pat to tell me a story about the farm and here...
Coming Home
We sat on the lawn in front of the house that had meant so much to her. She, and her three children, had come from Seattle for a time of remembering...
Hope, Idaho
The first white man to come to the area was the famed David Thompson, map maker and fur dealer. He had traveled from Canada and built Kulyspell House...
The Campfield Ferry
The Idaho Territorial Legislature granted a license to operate a ferry to Charles H. Campfield and Associates. That was on December 22, 1864. The authorized...
Sandpoint had no Ferry
On April 18, 1891, C.R.Martin and A.T.Dickinson received a license for $36.00 after posting a $1,000.00 bond, authorizing them to operate a ferry at...
Here and There in Sandpoint 2
At one time Priest Lake was the scene of a movie camp owned by Nell Shipman. She was an old time movie star and produced movies at Lionhead Lodge...
Library in the Early Years
The roots of the present library system in Bonner County, Idaho, started in 1905 when a few individuals opened a "free reading room". Hope was...
Logging in Bonner County
Bob Selle has lived in this area since 1923. He was seven years of age when his family came to the Sandpoint area. His first experience in logging...
The Sundance Fire
The Selkirk Mountains still show scars from the devastating effects of the Sundance fire. The fire started on August 23, 1967 with a lightning strike...
Pend Oreille Lodge
The two old chimneys still stand like two fingers pointing to the heavens. They are all that remain of what once was a show place along the banks of...
Sandpoint 1901-1902
When you walk the main streets of today's Sandpoint you will find most of the businesses are geared to meet the need of the tourist that frequent the area...
Smelting Companies
It was in March, 1903, that the Kootenai County Republican announced that "ground will be broken in ten days" for the new smelting company located at...
Technology
Men invent things for two reasons: There seems to be in every person a desire to find a better way of doing things and the second reason for invention is to make...
Train Technology
Sandpoint, Idaho, came into being because of the railroad and timber. The advances in technology in these two areas are mind boggling. Follow the railroad...
The War Years 2
Many people came to Sandpoint during the war years. Two of them were Beth Knight and Price May. Her story, in her own words, continues and she tells about...
Trestle fr. Sunnyside to TrestleCr.
The picture is of the old trestle that used to go from Sunnyside to Trestle Creek just a few miles from Sandpoint, Idaho. In the picture there is seen...
©Copyright 1998- by Sandpoint.com - All rights reserved