Newport News Shipbuilding recently named two longleaf pine trees USS Delaware (SSN 791) and USS Indiana (SSN 789) at The Mariners’ Museum and Park. The trees are part of a longleaf pine grove, dedicated in 2018, that commemorates ships built at NNS.

Southeastern Virginia was once home to 1.5 million acres of longleaf pine habitat. However, the trees – which were widely used in early shipbuilding – were pushed to near extinction in the region. The longleaf pine grove at The Mariners’ Museum and Park is part of an effort to repopulate the trees in the area.

Other trees in the grove are named Dorothy, SS United States, USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and USS Washington (SSN 787). To see the longleaf pine grove for free, visit Harvey Field at The Mariners’ Museum and Park.