U.S. Naval Supply Depot

AKA Clearfield Freeport Center, Freeport Warehousing and Distribution Center, Clearfield, UT

Tribune file photo
Construction on barracks at the Naval Supply Depot in Clearfield, Utah, is seen in this 1943 photo.

Jobsite

The U.S. Naval Supply Depot was one of several military installations constructed to support the United State’s efforts in WWII.  Serving as a large, supply depot for the U.S. Navy, the Naval Supply Depot covered 841 acres and included 68 storehouses and 110 buildings.  The depot was closed in 1962 and is now utilized as a commercial warehousing district and is called the Freeport Warehousing and Distribution Center.

Address or general location

1 Freeport Center, Clearfield, Utah

Detail

In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1942, an effort was made to protect the U.S. Navy’s military supplies from the reach of Japanese carrier aircraft.  As a result, Clearfield, Utah, was selected as an ideal location for a naval supply depot.  Opened in 1943, the Naval Supply Depot (NSD) was, at one point, the largest of its kind in the world.  Covering 841 acres and including 68 storehouses and 110 buildings, the NSD was a major employer for those in the region.  At its peak, nearly 8,000 workers were employed there.  With many men serving the country abroad, the workers at the NSD included a large number of women.

Primarily serving the Pacific Fleet, the NSD managed about 500,000 inventory items, including naval parts, equipment for ships, airplanes and personnel, and stores.  Also located on the site was a Marine barracks which was responsible for providing security for the site.  In 1962, the NSD no longer was utilized by the Navy and was instead converted into a commercial warehouse district named the Clearfield Freeport Center (AKA Freeport Warehousing and Distribution Center) which is still in operation today.