Woolsey, Florida, was a small community located on the north side of the Pensacola Navy Yard, [1] the construction of which began in Northwest Florida in April 1826. The town was razed in 1922 to make way for expanded Navy facilities.
Woolsey, Florida, was a small community located on the north side of the Pensacola Navy Yard, [1] the construction of which began in Northwest Florida in April 1826. The town was razed in 1922 to make way for expanded Navy facilities.
Recognizing the advantages of the Pensacola harbor and the large timber reserves nearby for shipbuilding, in 1825 President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of the Navy Samuel Southard made arrangements to build a Navy Yard on the southern tip of Escambia County, where the air station is today. [2] Navy captains William Bainbridge, Lewis Warrington, and James Biddle selected the site on Pensacola Bay. Commodore Warrington served as the first commandant of the navy yard. Warrington was succeeded by Commodore Melancthon Taylor Woolsey in late 1827, which position he held until 1831. [3]
"Commodore Woolsey created two villages, Warrington and Woolsey, outside the navy yard for homebuilding." [4] [5]
The Pensacola and Fort Barrancas Railroad , an eight-mile line connecting Pensacola with Fort Barrancas through Warrington, and Woolsey, was begun from 1870. [6] The company was incorporated by a special act of the State of Florida on February 12, 1870. It was granted an easement by Congress to run through the federal Navy Yard reservation on January 30, 1871. [7]
Following World War I, operation of land-based aircraft at Naval Air Station Pensacola increased. An expansion of the balloon operating field that opened immediately north of the old Navy Yard boundary in 1916 was undertaken in 1922. To make room for the enlarged facility, the small town of Woolsey was razed for the creation of the airdrome. [8] "Locals assumed the Army's involvement in the project and had to be informed that the field, initially called Station Field, was intended for the exclusive use of Navy landplanes." [9] The facility was renamed Chevalier Field in 1935.
No trace remains of Woolsey.
Warrington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Escambia County, Florida, United States. Warrington is located between downtown Pensacola and the state line with Alabama; it is 6 miles (10 km) away from both.
Crestview is the largest city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Okaloosa County. With an elevation of 235 feet (72 m) above sea level, it is one of the highest points in the state.
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It is located in Miramar, San Diego, California, about 14 miles (23 km) north of Downtown San Diego.
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola, "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits. It is best known as the initial primary training base for all U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard officers pursuing designation as naval aviators and naval flight officers, the advanced training base for most naval flight officers, and as the home base for the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the precision-flying team known as the Blue Angels.
Fort Barrancas (1839) or Fort San Carlos de Barrancas is a United States military fort and National Historic Landmark in the former Warrington area of Pensacola, Florida, located physically within Naval Air Station Pensacola, which was developed later around it.
Lompoc Airport is a public airport located just north of the city of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, California, United States.
Marine Attack Squadron 331 (VMA-331) was an attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the "Doodlebugs" and "Bumblebees," was part of Marine Aircraft Group 31, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and was based out of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. The squadron fought in World War II and Operation Desert Storm. It was decommissioned as part of the post Cold War drawdown of the US Military on 1 October 1992.
Marine Aviation and Training Support Group 21 (MATSG-21) is a United States Marine Corps aviation training group that was originally established in 1922 as the 2nd Aviation Group. During World War II the unit was known as Marine Aircraft Group 21 (MAG-21). Squadrons from MAG-21 fought in many of the opening battles of the war to include the Battle of Wake Island, Battle of Midway and as part of the Cactus Air Force during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The group was deactivated following the end of the war and was not reactivated until 2000 when the Marine Aviation Detachment at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida was renamed MATSG-21. The core of the MATSG personnel is derived from 175 officer instructors and 550 student naval aviators/naval flight officers.
Marine Aircraft Group 93 (MAG-93) was a United States Marine Corps aviation group established during World War II. MAG-93, a dive bombing training group, was commissioned on 1 April 1944 and was initially headquartered at Marine Corps Auxiliary Airfield Bogue, North Carolina. Their mission was to train pilots to fly the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver. The group was decommissioned in October 1945 as part of the post-war drawdown of forces and has been inactive since.
Marine Attack Squadron 144 (VMA-144) was a reserve Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Originally known as VMSB-144, the squadron saw its first combat in World War II as part of the Cactus Air Force during the Battle of Guadalcanal and also provided close air support during the Bougainville campaign (1943-1945). Following the war the squadron was deactivated but later became part of the Marine Air Reserve and was based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville and then Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida.
Marine Fighting Squadron 413 (VMF-413) was a fighter squadron of the Marine Forces Reserve during the Cold War. It descended from bombing squadron VMB-413, which was the Marine Corps' first medium bomber squadron and had fought during World War II. Best known as "Night Hecklers" and the "Shamrocks", the squadron fought in many areas of the Pacific War.
Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 342 (VMSB-342) was a dive bomber squadron in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron, also known as the “Bats from Hell”, was active during World War II but never saw combat in the Pacific Theater. The squadron were decommissioned on October 10, 1944.
Chevalier Field was the original non-seaplane aircraft landing area at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Established originally in 1922 as Station Field, it was an expansion of the balloon operating field that opened in 1916. It was located on the northeast side of the Navy shipyard, on the western edge of Pensacola Bay and south of Bayou Grande. The small town of Woolsey, just north of the Navy Yard, had been razed for the creation of the airdrome. "Locals assumed the Army's involvement in the project and had to be informed that the field, initially called Station Field, was intended for the exclusive use of Navy landplanes."
The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad (P&A) was a company incorporated by an act of the Florida Legislature on March 4, 1881, to run from Pensacola to the Apalachicola River near Chattahoochee, a distance of about 160 miles (260 km). No railroad had ever been built across the sparsely populated panhandle of Florida, which left Pensacola isolated from the rest of the state. William D. Chipley and Frederick R. De Funiak, both of whom are commemorated in the names of towns later built along the P&A line, were among the founding officers of the railroad company.
The Pensacola and Fort Barrancas Railroad was an eight-mile line connecting Pensacola, Florida, with Fort Barrancas through Warrington and Woolsey, dating to 1870. The company was incorporated by a special act of the State of Florida on February 12, 1870. It was granted an easement by Congress to run through the federal Navy Yard reservation on January 30, 1871.
Marine Attack Squadron 143 (VMA-143), nicknamed the Rocket Raiders, was a reserve attack squadron in the United States Marine Corps. Originally commissioned during World War II, the squadron fought at the Guadalcanal, New Georgia, the Battle of Bougainville, Battle of Okinawa, and the Battle of Balikpapan.
Naval Air Station Hutchinson, Kansas, is a former facility of the United States Navy, located 13 miles south of Hutchinson, Kansas, which was constructed during World War II, and reopened for several years in the 1950s before final closure in 1958. The base was then taken over by the Kansas Air National Guard.
Marine Fighting Squadron 472 (VMF-472) was a fighter squadron of the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Known as "The Flying Seahorses", the squadron flew the Grumman F6F Hellcat during its short time in existence. The squadron was slated to support the invasion of Japan in late 1945 however the Japanese surrender meant it did not get further than Hawaii and did not participate in combat action during the war. VMF-472 was decommissioned on 24 December 1945 and no other Marine Corps squadron has carried its lineage and honors since.
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