Naval Square, Philadelphia
Naval Square is a gated community within the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1834 to 1845, when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis. It continued as a retirement home for sailors and marines and was called the Naval Home until 1976, when the facility was relocated to Mississippi.
Pennsylvania Nautical School
The Pennsylvania Nautical School’s first schoolship was the USS Saratoga, a 47 year old 882 ton sloop of war, named after Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. In 1908 the Saratoga was replaced by the USS Adams, a 1,397 ton screw gunboat. The Adams served for five years until the school was discontinued on February 16, 1914 due to local disagreements and lack of funding by the State Legislature. On July 8, 1919 the Pennsylvania State Legislature reactivated the nautical school and renamed it the Pennsylvania State Nautical School. The USS Annapolis was designated as the nautical school's training vessel and until its service ended in 1941. In 1940 the administration of the school was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission and was renamed the Pennsylvania Maritime Academy. In the Spring of 1942 the administration ended and the cadets were transferred to the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. The former Coast Guard cutter USCG Seneca became the nautical school's fourth schoolship. In September 1942 administration of the school was returned to the State of Pennsylvania and the Seneca was renamed the USS Keystone State. In 1946, the USS Selinur, renamed USS Keystone State II, became the nautical school's fifth and final schoolship. Lack of State government funding, allegations of cadet's "mutinous behavior," allegations of political corruption, and a decrease in applicants, led to the closure of the Pennsylvania Maritime Academy on June 20, 1947