To honor a piece of history, The Washington State Friends of the USS Olympia have set up a campaign to preserve the 116-year-old vessel.
The ship is a storied one, as the Navy Asiatic Squad’s flagship. In 1898, it fired the opening shots at the Battle of Manila. Along with a fleet of eight other Navy ships, it saw to the destruction of the Spanish fleet. When the city officials invited the war hero Admiral Dewey to visit Olympia, he offered a scathing report that the city had not done its duty or honored its namesake.
The USS Olympia, decommissioned in 1921, now rests at the Independence Seaport Museum along the Delaware River. In 2010, officials within the museum said they could not afford the ship’s upkeep, and sought a buyer with the means to tow, restore, and maintain the ship, but were unable to locate one.
Museum leaders have now announced that they will keep the ship if they are able to raise the millions necessary to restore it. The project will include $7m to repair the thinning and leaking hull. Once the cost of replacing the rotten wooden deck and other long-term maintenance and repairs has been added, it is likely to cost $20m to get the vessel ship-shape.
FOTO, a group of history aficionados, is looking to produce educational programs to tell the story of the ship’s place in history. Campaigns such as this often involve printing services such as Brochures and Flyers. Get a Free Quote for Flyers Get a Free Quote for Brochures
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