Davisville, Rhode Island facts for kids
Davisville is a small village located in the town of North Kingstown. It's part of Washington County in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. This village was once home to an important naval base. This base was called the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center. It was a training ground for the United States Navy's special construction teams, known as the SeaBees.
About Davisville Village
Even though trains like Amtrak and MBTA's Providence/Stoughton Line pass through Davisville, there isn't a train station here right now. However, officials are thinking about building a new MBTA station in the future.
The naval base was located at Quonset Point, right on Narragansett Bay. This area is now part of North Kingstown. The Navy first bought this land in 1939. They built a place called Naval Air Station Quonset Point there.
In 1942, more land nearby was used to train the Seabees. This became the Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC) at Davisville. After World War II ended, the Naval Air Station kept working. But the NCBC base was not used for a while. It reopened in 1951 as the main headquarters for the NCBC.
The Naval Air Station closed down in 1974. Later, in 1991, the NCBC Davisville base was chosen to close as well. It officially stopped operations on April 1, 1994. The land was then given to the State of Rhode Island.
What Happened to the Base Land?
The State of Rhode Island has put a lot of money into improving the transportation around the old base. This area is now called the Quonset Business Park. They built new roads, including a big four-lane highway. This highway connects the park to Route 4.
Today, the Quonset Business Park is the largest industrial park in Rhode Island. It has the most jobs compared to other industrial parks. It's located right on Narragansett Bay, near Route 1 and Route 403. This huge business park covers about 3,174 acres (12.8 square kilometers). In 2007, it had almost 150 businesses. It was designed to hold up to 18,000 employees.
One of the biggest businesses there is General Dynamics Electric Boat. They build submarines. Another large company is North Atlantic Distribution, Inc (NORAD). This company is one of the biggest car importers in North America. In 2011, they brought in over 150,000 cars by ship. They also received many cars by train. You can often see thousands of cars stored in the park.
Inside the Quonset Business Park, there's also the Quonset State Airport. This airport uses the old runways from the Navy Air Station. It's a general aviation airport, meaning it's used for smaller planes. It has a long runway, about 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) long.
You can also find two interesting museums in the park:
- The Seabee Museum and Memorial Park: This museum was created by former U.S. Navy Seabees. It has old Navy buildings, including a concrete chapel and several historic Quonset huts. There's also a huge statue of a Seabee.
- The Quonset Air Museum: This museum is in buildings that were originally part of the Naval Air Station.
In 2007, Rhode Island announced plans for a large project. They wanted to build a $150-million facility to build and repair large luxury yachts. This would also include a training center. There were also plans for an $80-million "Gateway Project." This project would include a hotel, a visitor center, shops, restaurants, and a bank. It was planned to surround the Seabee Museum. However, some of these plans did not fully happen. One of the main stores closed soon after opening, and some parts like the visitor center were not built by 2016.
