With the support of local businesses and the community, Richard Bard (The Father of the Port) welcomed customers to the Port of the Hueneme on July 4, 1940. Commerce was just starting to take off at the Port with lumber carriers, farmers, and fishermen utilizing the then 322-acre port, when War broke out in the Pacific at the onset of WWII. History shortly revealed that it had another purpose for the Port during this time: supporting the national war effort.
Upon the attack at Pearl Harbor, the federal government considered the Port’s land and good location an asset to defend American territories and the mainland. On March 5, 1942, the U.S. Navy took over the Port through eminent domain and designated it a hub for naval wartime activity. During the war, more than 150,000 tons of cargo was shipped out of the Port each month, making it the second largest shipping port for war material on the West Coast. From mid-1942, until the end of the war in 1945, the port averaged 11 ships leaving every week, carrying more than 7.5 million tons of cargo on more than 1000 ships. In 1945 alone, the Port handled 402 ships carrying 3.1 million tons of war material. “The Port’s place as a strategic cornerstone in the nation’s physical and economic well-being was solidified during these years of wartime support,” said Mary Anne Rooney, Oxnard Harbor District Board President. “This symbiotic relationship has carried the Port and NBVC throughout the years, becoming a bright spot in our region’s economy and the defense of our great nation.”
