The Race to Build Ships on Jones Point (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

The Race to Build Ships on Jones Point
Alexandria Goes to War
— 1918 - 1921 —

In response to a shortage of ships and shipbuilding facilities at the start of World War I, the U.S. government decided to enter the shipbuilding business. In 1917, the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation was created and eventually oversaw construction of 218 shipyards, including one here on Jones Point. The first piling for the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation's shipyard was driven in February 1918. The massive facility was up and running just 85 days later—a reported world record.

The arrival of thousands of shipyard workers in Alexandria shattered the domestic tranquility of Jones Point. Responding to the acute worker housing shortage, the Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation began construction of 100 houses in the nearby suburb of Rosemont during the summer of 1918. Posters such as this one encouraged the new hires to “pull together.”

Erected by National Park Service.

Bronze Plaque:
Every man in the loft, Although the job may look soft, Are doing their best, Along with the rest, To help build the Gunston Hall.
-- George Simpson, VSC mold loft worker

Captions:
President Woodrow Wilson drives the first rivet, May 30, 1918
Worker's Service Medal
Teamwork Builds Ships