Why Craney Island Isn't an Island

By Katherine A. Renfrew
Hampton Roads Naval Museum Registrar


The true Craney Island has not been an island for more than 55 years. Extending into the Elizabeth River, the island became a peninsula when the U.S. Navy began filling in a branch of Craney Island Creek in 1938.  Now it’s the Craney Island Fuel Terminal, the U.S. Navy’s largest fuel facility in the continental United States.  It is operated by Fleet and Industrial Supply Center (FISC) Norfolk’s Fuel Department under the Navy Supply Systems Command. With 1,100 acres of above and below-ground fuel storage tanks, the terminal has extensive capabilities for fueling/defueling ships and other vessels.

Aerial view of Craney Island Fuel Depot, looking south, August 22, 1942. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1942_02 / RG 71-CB, Box 90, Folder, Craney Island Fuel Depot, Aerial View)

The images below show the years when the Navy started rehabilitating the area for use as a fuel depot. Most of the construction was done by employees of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency that employed millions of people to carry out public works projects.

Workers make their way along the “bicycle path” leading to the administration building, which was formerly used as a quarantine hospital, August, 3, 1938. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1938_01 / RG 71-CA, Box 311, Folder A)

Up-close view of workers repairing the quarantine quarters, August, 3, 1938. These buildings were considered the oldest on the island, dating back to before the Civil War. It was used as an infirmary and then a quarantine hospital for smallpox sufferers. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1938_02 / RG 71-CA, Box 311, Folder A)

“Reconditioned quarters," looking southwest, September 1, 1938. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1938_03 / RG 71-CA, Box 311, Folder A)

Workers grading the soil around oil tank Nos. 5 & 6 inside berm, looking east, September 1, 1938. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1938_05 / RG 71-CF, Box 1, Folder Virginia, Naval Base Norfolk.)

View showing diesel oil line from Tank No. 4 to pump house, looking east, June 7, 1939. (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1939_03 / RG 71-CA, Box 311, Folder A)



General view of foam and diesel oil lines along southeast waterfront, looking southeast, May 4, 1939.  (National Archives and Records Administration- Craney Island-1939_12 / RG 71-CA, Box 311, Folder A)

This brief history of the Craney Island Fuel Deport is the sixth in a series of blog posts illustrating the development of U.S. Navy facilities in Hampton Roads. Unless otherwise noted, the photographs in this series represent the results of a research project seeking images of Hampton Roads naval installations at the National Archives and Records Administration. This research, performed by the Southeastern Archaeological Research, Incorporated (SEARCH), was funded by Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, as part of an ongoing effort to provide information on historic architectural resources at Navy bases in Hampton Roads. The museum is pleased to present these images for the benefit of the general public and interested historians. As far as we know, all of these images are in the public domain and none of them have been published before.

Constructing Destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Part 2

 These are a few more of the pictures the museum recently received on the construction of three destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the mid-1930s. These pictures show the construction USS Bagley (DD-386).

Frames for Bagley's hull pre-fabricated at the Yard's Shop 11, June 1935



While the workers made the frames, the keel was laid down at the same time.



View of structure, September 1935

Workers at the Yard's boiler shop assemble the ship's stack and breeching, March 1936.

Launch day-September 1936. Miss Bella Worth Bagley, sister of the ship's namesake, christens the ship.

Bagley in the Elizabeth River, shortly after launch. Workers later assembled the ship's guns, bridge, and stack.

Constructing Destroyers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Part 1

Keel-laying ceremony for USS Helm (DD-388)

The museum was recently given two photo albums depicting the construction of the destroyers Bagley (DD-386), Blue (DD-387), and Helm (DD-388) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard-Portsmouth between 1936 and 1938. All three ships were built from funding provided by President Franklin Roosevelt's National Industrial Recovery Act, a controversial "New Deal" program designed to revitalize American manufacturing. All three warships had very active Naval careers during World War II.

The photos show the complete cycle of construction from the ceremonial keel laying to builders' trials. Here are a few of the pictures. More will be published later this week.

The finished product of Helm's bridge and deck house at one the Yard's manfacturing shops.

Hulls of Blue (left) and Helm (right). Notice the sign at the far right. It reminds workers that the ships were built under funding provided by the National Industrial Recovery Act.

Installing the bridge and deck house on the Helm's hull.

FDR at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard

On this Inauguration Day, we post a photo of President Franklin Roosevelt at the Norfolk Navy Yard during his 1940 tour of Hampton Roads' military facilities. Norfolk Navy Yard was one of many facilities that received millions of dollars from New Deal programs. FDR's purpose in visiting Hampton Roads was to shore up support for these programs that had been criticized for granting too much authority to the President. A full transcript of the visit can be read at our website http://www.hrnm.navy.mil/daybooks/Volume13Issue1.pdf