Naval War College Museum

The Naval War College Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, is one of fifteen official museums operated by the U.S. Navy, under the direction of the Naval History & Heritage Command and in co-operation with the Naval War College.

History

The Naval War College established the Naval Museum in 1952, with the approval of the Chief of Naval Operations to manage its collections of historical artifacts. Since 1978, it has occupied its present quarters on Coasters Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay at Newport, Rhode Island. This building, now called Founders Hall, was originally built in ca. 1820 as the Newport Poor Asylum. The city of Newport and the state of Rhode Island donated this property to the U.S. Navy for the U.S. Navy to use as the Naval War College. The College's first president, Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, formally dedicated the building to the Navy's use. The building became famous in the years 1886-1889, when the College's second president, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, first gave his lectures in this building that formed the basis for his famous book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 (1890). It is on this basis that the U.S. Department of the Interior listed the building in 1965 as the "Original Naval War College" in the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Historic Landmark District includes President's House, Naval War College, which is separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum

Today, the Naval...
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