The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command (CNIC).
They were established for the purpose of decentralizing the Navy Department's functions with respect to the control of the coastwise sea communications and the shore activities outside the department proper, and for the further purpose of centralizing under one command:
(a) For military coordination, all naval activities, and
(b) For administrative coordination, all naval activities with specific exceptions, within the district and the waters thereof.
The limits of the naval districts are laid down in article 1480, Navy Regulations. Those limits extend to seaward so far as to include the coastwise sea lanes (art. 1486 (1), Navy Regulations).
"Each naval district shall be commanded by a designated commandant, who is the direct representative of the Navy Department, including its bureaus and offices, in all matters affecting district activity" (Art. 1481, Navy Regulations.).
1st Naval District
The boundaries of the First Naval District, to be headquartered at Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine (and later in Boston), were established on 7 May 1903 in accordance with General Order No. 128, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling. Until late 1915 no personnel were assigned to the district staff. In 1945 the district was headquartered at Boston, Massachusetts, and consisted of the following geographic areas: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island (including Block Island and NAS Quonset Point). The First Naval District was disestablished on 7 October 1976 and control passed to the Fourth Naval District.
2nd Naval District
Created with the other original districts in 1903, the Second Naval District was the smallest of the lot. It was headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island, and covered only Rhode Island and adjacent waters. It was disestablished and its areas incorporated into the First and Third Districts on March 15, 1919, after the end of World War I.
3rd Naval District
The Third Naval District, headquartered at New York, New York, was established on 7 May 1903 in accordance with General Order No. 128, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling. Puerto Rico was initially part of the district due to good communications between New York and Puerto Rico. In 1919 Puerto Rico was removed from the district and placed directly under the control of the Chief of Naval Operations. In 1945 the district, still headquartered at New York, consisted of the following geographic areas: Connecticut, New York, the northern part of New Jersey (including counties of Mercer, Monmouth, and all counties north thereof), and also the Nantucket Shoals Lightship. The Third Naval District was disestablished on 7 October 1976 and functions were transferred to the Fourth Naval District.
4th Naval District
The boundaries of the Fourth Naval District, to be headquartered at League Island Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were established on 7 May 1903 in accordance with General Order No. 128, signed by Acting Secretary of the Navy Charles H. Darling. No personnel were assigned to the district staff until late 1915. In 1945 the district, still headquartered in Philadelphia, consisted of the following geographic areas: Pennsylvania, the southern part of New Jersey (including the counties of Burlington, Ocean, and all counties south thereof), and Delaware (including Winter Quarters Shoal Light Vessel). On 7 October 1976 this command absorbed the functions of the First and Third Naval Districts. The Fourth Naval District was disestablished on 30 September 1980.