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Naval Gun Factory
Washington Gun and Carriage Shop
Postcards & Stereographs
From the Collection of John Sharp

Furnished by : John Sharp ©

From 1880 until 1962 the organization that produced the
ordnance was the Naval Gun Factory (NGF)
while it was always located on the Washington Navy Yard.
Employees kep it simple and always called it the Yard

Stereographs The three The Keystone View Co stereograph, or stereo views below were part of a set that illustrated Washington DC and its environments. These photographs were taken of the Washington Navy Yard about 1898. Paper prints were then mounted on card stock to be viewed through a stereoscope to produce a three dimensional image. This very popular photographic medium became widely distributed in the United States by the 1880s. Stereographs reached their peak of popular distribution in the years 1902-1935 through the business efforts of such companies as the Keystone View Company and Underwood & Underwood.

Stereograph No. 8043 Gun Shop U. S. Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1898

Stereograph No. 8044 Breech Mechanism Department Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1898
Breech Mechanism Shop about 1898 with five proud mechanics showing off their handiwork.

Stereograph Gun Shop Storage Yard U. S. Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1898
This outdoor view looking toward the river was taken about 1898 and shows the Yard area where ammunition was parked and also coal for refueling. The ship in the background is probably a vintage monitor.

Stereograph No. 14107 East Gun Carriage Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C., U. S. A. July 4, 1905 This image is from the Library of Congress.
This The Keystone View Co. stereograph depicts the Naval Gun Factory mechanics of the East Gun Carriage Shop celebrating July 4th 1905.

Postcards Publisher - I & M Ottenheimer Company of Baltimore produced a series of photo cards of Washington DC. and other major cities for the tourist trade. Foster and Reynolds was a competitor of I & M Ottenheimer Company and both companies made photographic images for the tourist business during the early years of the 20th century.

Postcard Waterfront Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1900
An I & M Ottenheimerpost card of the Washington Navy Yard waterfront looking toward Ancostia. The old ship in the foreground is the receiving ship USS Dale. This card was mailed in March 1907 to Miss Jennie White, of 255 N 17 St Philadelphia PA from AAW who noted: "The weather is cold & rough down here today but it was very warm yesterday"

Postcard No. 65 West Gun and Carriage Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C.

This post card was made by I & M Ottenheimer Company of Baltimore Maryland, The Ottenheimer company did a series of views of Washington DC including many of the Washington Navy Yard . This one is an interior view is of the West Gun Carriage Shop. This photo gives a good idea of what it must have been like to work in the Naval Gun Factory which was a large industrial complex (circa 1880 -1962) dedicated to the manufacture of naval ordnance. In the Naval Gun Factory Gun Carriage Shop the work spaces are tight and crowded and when all the lathes and various machines were in full operation the place was noisy and metal dust was flying all about. The work could be dangerous since the leather belts that drove the lathes could break sending metal objects flying through the air, the noise levels also made it particularly difficult to hear instructions so most workmen used hand signals. This card was sent by Walter Blair, a Naval Gun Factory machinist to his father William H. Blair MD of 1805 Peach St. Erie Pennsylvania on February 28, 1907. Young Walter Blair writes : "Dear father this is where I spend my little 8 hours every day. Lathe marked ( X ) is the one I run. Love to all Walter" Walter Blair's (X) marks the lathe located the fifth down on the left side of this photo. Walter Blair probably went to work at the Naval Gun Factory about 1904 as an apprentice and after completing his apprenticeship about 1908 returned to Erie PA married and resumed work as a machinist in Erie. Perhaps one of our Genealogy Trails.com viewers will know more about Walter Blair and his subsequent career?

Postcard No. 56 Breech Blocks for 12-inch Guns Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905
This I & M Ottenheimer photo gives some idea of the scale of the 12 inch guns constructed at the Naval Gun Factory. These guns had room for a man to sit in the Breech Block .

Postcard No. 63 Breech Mechanism Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905

This is an I & M Ottenhimer photo circa 1905 of the Naval Gun Factory Breech Mechanism Shop where the breech inter working were assembled. Note the formality of this era , the young mechanic in the straw boater was fairly typical, many of the other WNY mechanics wear coats, ties and hats. This shop must have been rough in the hot & humid Washington DC summers and this era was long before air conditioning.

Postcard No. 67 Secondary Mount Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905
View of the Naval Gun Factory Scondary Mount Shop note the leather belts used to turn the large lathes these were a hazzard since they were prone to break and could sent objects on the lathes into the air.

Postcard Gun Shop U. S. Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905

The photo image of the Naval Gun Factory Gun Shop was published by Forster & Reynolds publishers, circa 1905. The Washington Navy Yard, until the beginning of WWI ( when it was closed to the public due to wartime security) was a major tourist destination and attraction in the District of Columbia. One of the more popular stops in Washington Navy Yard was the Gun Shop. At the Gun Shop tourist's could view the great guns and see the large lathes that were used for turning, boring and rifling the great guns that were to be installed on the new battleships. Many of these guns had ranges of from 4 to 12 miles. Note the heavy lift crane.

Postcard Erecting Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905
The Naval Gun Factory Erecting Shop was used to assemble ordnance units as such as 5 inch 38 caliber mounts for lighter types of shop They also assembled heavier ordnance units, slides and projectile hoists.

Postcard Miscellaneous Shop Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. circa 1905
The Naval Gun Factory Miscellaneous Shop manufactured gun directors, concentration dials, etc. as well as early radio apparatus electrical and lighting equipment.

Photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnston Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952), was an early photo-journalist and a noted freelance photographer; she was one of the first American women to achieve prominence as a photographer.

Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph   Library of Congress photo circa 1905
Portait of an Naval Gun Factory Mechanic and Apprentice

Frances Benjamin Johnston photograph   Library of Congress photo circa 1905

This photograph was taken at the Naval Gun Factory by Frances Benjamin Johnston about 1905 most likely for the Bain News Service. This photo was done as part of her series on work and workers at the Naval Gun Factory. Her photo shows Naval Gun Factory workers putting the finishing touches to guns used by naval landing parties. The older man in the photo is probably Leadingman, Machinist George S. Stewart, born September 1, 1851 he first worked at the Naval Gun Factory on November 10, 1869. The other individuals in this photo are mostly likely apprentices. Naval Gun Factory (till its closing in 1962) had an extensive apprenticeship program. This Naval Gun Factory apprenticeship program turned out some of the most highly trained machinist's in the world. Naval Gun Factory apprentices received both on the job and class room instruction but key to the whole training effort was men like George Stewart who loved their work and enjoyed passing on their trade knowledge to the next generation. Steward worked at Naval Gun Factory for over fifty years retiring in 1920.

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