The Apprentice School

W-171

The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, founded in 1886, quickly became one of the nation's foremost builders of military and commercial ships. An informal apprenticeship program for the training of employees was in place by the 1890s. On 1 July 1919, company president Homer L. Ferguson signed Executive Order 24 formally establishing The Apprentice School. The shipyard paid its apprentices to attend academic classes and to receive training in shipbuilding trades, with a focus on craftsmanship, scholarship, and leadership. More than 10,000 students have graduated from the program. This is the fifth building to house The Apprentice School.

Department of Historic Resources, 2019

See a problem? Report it to HighwayMarkers@dhr.virginia.gov.

DHR could use your help! We don't have a recent image of this marker. If you have one that you'd like to submit for inclusion on this site, please send it to HighwayMarkers@dhr.virginia.gov.

References/Bibliographic Citation:

William L. Tazewell, Newport News Shipbuilding: The First Century (Newport News: The Mariners’ Museum, 1986). William E. Blewett Jr. “‘Always Good Ships’: A History of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company” (1960). William A. Lee, “The Apprentice Experience: An Early History,” Newport News, Apprentice Alumni Association, 2003. https://nns.huntingtoningalls.com/ https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/newport_news.htm Newport News Daily Press, 24 March 1898, 22, 23 Oct., 21 Dec. 1907, 30 Jan. 1908, 24 July 1994, 6 July 2015. Norfolk Journal and Guide, 24 March 1956. Richmond Times-Dispatch, 6 Feb. 1972, 13 Feb. 1977. New-York Tribune, 18 Oct. 1893.