Mallows Bay is a small inlet located halfway up the Potomac River. It is home to over 100 WWI-era wooden steamships that were scuttled in a period between 1920-1940.
When America entered WWI a massive influx of ships were commissioned and built to aid in the war effort. The ships a Mallows bay were commissioned for the U.S. Emergency Fleet between 1917-1919. However, the war ended before the fleet had finished construction, and although 300 ships were completed, they were never involved in a theater of war. After the war, various salvaging companies purchased the ships to be broken down for the valuable steel they contained. While the ships were stored at various locations on the Potomac, they were gradually brought up the river to Alexandria to be salvaged. The last period of salvaging occurred at the start of WWII, and lasted two years. Following the salvage operations, around 100 ships still remained in the bay where they gradually deteriorated and sank. |
Coming into the modern day, Mallows Bay was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. This status gave it some protective status as an important historical site recognized by the US government.
In 2019, Mallows was declared a National Marine Sanctuary, joining a list of 14 other sanctuaries around the country. As the newest sanctuary, there is a multitude of research that needs to be done on the environmental, historical, and preservation aspects of the site. By peering through the brackish water, who knows what we may find? |
For a more details about Mallows Bay, visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/