Ford Island

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For other uses, see Ford Island (disambiguation).

Aerial view of Pearl Harbor with Ford Island in the middle.

Ford Island is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is connected to the main island by the Ford Island Bridge. Before the bridge was built, Ford Island could only be reached by a ferry boat which ran at hourly intervals for cars and foot passengers. The island houses several naval facilities. It also has two main groups of military housing: Nob Hill and Luke Field. The United States Census Bureau defines Ford Island as Block 9014, Block Group 9, Census Tract 81 of Honolulu County, Hawaii. The island officially has 1.83 km² (0.707 sq mi) of land and a population of 368 persons as of the 2000 census. ^[1]

1 History
2 Features
3 Little Known Facts
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Ancient Hawaiians called the island Moku-umeume—the isle of attraction. It is currently named after Dr. Seth Ford, a Boston physician who practiced medicine at the Hawaiian Insane Asylum and the U.S. Marine Hospital from 1861–1866.

Hangar and planes burning on Ford Island during Pearl Harbor attack

When Ford died, the island was sold to the Honolulu Plantation. The U.S. Army purchased it during World War I for $236,000. It was transferred to the Navy in 1923. At the height of World War II more than 40,000 people lived and worked on the 450 acre (183 ha) island. The island was in the center of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, because of the battleship moorings surrounding the island.

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and George Bush were guests here.

The naval station was decommissioned in 1962. The island was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Several motion pictures were filmed on Ford Island, including In Harm's Way starring John Wayne, Tora Tora Tora, and the 2001 Michael Bay picture Pearl Harbor.

Before the Admiral Clarey Bridge was opened in 1998, transportation to and from Ford Island was by ferryboat. Tourists were unable to visit the island without a military ID or being invited by a resident. Now, civilians are able to visit the USS Missouri museum there.

[edit] Features

There is a monument to the USS Utah on the island. Luke Field (est. 1919) is located here.

The Pacific Aviation Museum is located here. Currently, the museum, which opened on 7 December 2006, is housed in hangar 37 and there are plans to expand the museum to hangars 54 and 79.

[edit] Little Known Facts

Ford Island was host to an annual "Hydrofest" where hydroplanes raced around the harbor.

Hollywood actor William Joseph Hill grew up on Ford Island with his family. His father William Joseph Hill Sr. was a Captain in the U.S. Navy.

Damage to structures on Ford Island during the Pearl Harbor attack was surprisingly minimal. A bomb landed (probably by mistake) in the courtyard of the medical building, and windows in some buildings were shattered by the force of explosions on ships.

Amelia Earhart crashed on takeoff from Luke Field during her first attempt at flying around the world.