| Farragut State Park | |
| Idaho State Park | |
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Lake Pend Oreille from Farragut State Park
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| Named for: David Farragut | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Idaho |
| County | Kootenai |
| Location | Bayview |
| - elevation | 2,054 ft (626 m) |
| - coordinates | |
| Area | 4,000 acres (1,618.7 ha) |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Management | Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation |
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Location of Farragut State Park in Idaho
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Farragut State Park is a state park of Idaho, USA, on the southern tip of the Lake Pend Oreille in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains. Formerly the site held the Farragut Naval Training Station, a major training base of the U.S. Navy during World War II. The base was named after David Farragut, the first admiral in the U.S. Navy, the leading naval officer during the Civil War.
The 4,000-acre (16 km2) park is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Athol in the Idaho Panhandle. It is about 30 miles (48 km) from the city of Coeur d'Alene.
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Eleanor Roosevelt allegedly noticed the lake on a flight to Seattle. Knowing that President Roosevelt was seeking a location for a secure inland naval training center, she mentioned it to him and he made a secret tour of the area. Ground was broken in March 1942, and by September the base had a population of 55,000, making it the largest city in Idaho. Liberty trains to Spokane ran three times daily. At the time Farragut was the second-largest naval training center in the world.
Over 293,000 sailors received basic training at Farragut during its 30 months of existence. The last recruit graduated in March 1945 and the facility was decommissioned in June 1946. It was also used as a prisoner of war camp; nearly 900 Germans worked as gardeners and maintenance men.[1]
In 1942, Lt. Commander Henry T. McMaster, supervisor of support services at the station, contracted photographer Ross Hall to produce group and portrait photos of all recruits and companies. Operator of a studio in nearby Sandpoint, Hall employed up to 15 workers in creating a photographic archive of more than 300,000 images.[2]
From 1946-49 it was the site of the Farragut College and Technical Institute, which did not re-open in late 1949 due to financial difficulties.
The park adjoins the deepwater Lake Pend Oreille, where the Navy maintains a submarine research center at Bayview, the Acoustic Research Detachment.
The land was transferred to the state of Idaho in 1963 and became a state park the following year.
Farragut State Park is significant in the history of Scouting in Idaho. The park hosted the 1965 National Girl Scout Senior Roundup, 1967 World Scout Jamboree, 1969 National Scout Jamboree, the 1973 National Scout Jamboree, and the 2002 Star Northwest of the Boy Scouts of America.
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