Learn About the Park

The Beginning of a Maritime Legacy

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1988 to preserve and interpret the history and achievements of seafaring Americans and the nation’s maritime heritage. The park uses a fleet of national historic landmark (NHL) vessels, a collection of more than 100 historic small craft, a museum collection with more than 6 million items, a visitor center, and a research center to chronicle the lives and dreams of the men and women who tamed America’s maritime frontier.

The San Francisco Bay has long played an important role in maritime history. Native peoples plied San Francisco Bay in reed canoes for thousands of years. The Spanish established an outpost at the site of present-day San Francisco in 1776. After gold was discovered in 1848, the sea brought waves of dreamers to the American West. They entered the Golden Gate aboard anything that could float and raced to find their fortunes. Gold, however, was not the only resource found in California. The dense forests of Douglas fir and redwood trees created a massive lumber industry, and the rich agriculture of California's Central Valley produced significant amounts of wheat. San Francisco proved to be the ideal port for shipping these valuable goods due to the geographic features of the Bay. As America’s first major West Coast seaport, San Francisco became a center for maritime commerce and a gateway for cultural exchange.