A “very rare” Navy ship that once hunted mines in the Pacific is being rebuilt in an unlikely place: the Port of Stockton in California’s Central Valley. The USS Lucid, a Cold War era minesweeper, is undergoing a major restoration that aims to turn the wooden-hulled vessel into a fully interpreted museum ship in time for the Navy’s 250th birthday and America’s semiquincentennial in 2026. The project is more than a cosmetic facelift, it is a bid to anchor national maritime history in a city that many visitors do not even realize has a deepwater port.
The effort to bring the USS Lucid back to life is unfolding just as the Navy and civic partners across the country prepare tall ships, historic vessels and modern warships for a sweeping slate of anniversary events. If it stays on track, the Stockton project will give the public a rare chance to walk the decks of a surviving minesweeper at the very moment the country is being asked to think harder about sea power, shipbuilding and the cost of keeping oceans open.
The USS Lucid’s unlikely second life in Stockton
The USS Lucid is one of the last remaining examples of a Navy minesweeper built with a wooden hull, a design choice meant to reduce the magnetic signature that could trigger underwater explosives. After years in the reserve fleet and time laid up in Suisun Bay, the ship was acquired by local advocates who are now working to restore the vessel at the Stockton Maritime Museum, where it is described as a “very rare” survivor of its class and era. The plan is to stabilize the hull, rebuild key interior spaces and open the ship as a permanent exhibit that explains how minesweeping protected carriers, cargo ships and amphibious forces in conflicts that stretched from the Korean War through Vietnam, a story that is often overshadowed by more glamorous combat roles.
Stockton might sound like an odd setting for such an ambitious naval restoration, but the city is connected to the Pacific through the San Joaquin River and the Port of Stockton, which means the USS Lucid can sit in the water rather than on blocks in a parking lot. Reporting on the project notes that Stockton is not truly landlocked and that the long term goal is to turn the ship into a floating museum that can host school groups, veterans and tourists who might never make it to San Diego or Norfolk. The vessel’s “bright future” is framed as a chance to bring a hidden piece of Stockton history into public view, with the Stockton Maritime Museum using the Lucid as a centerpiece for a broader maritime campus that also interprets the city’s role in West Coast logistics and ship repair.
Why a “very rare” minesweeper matters to veterans and visitors
For veterans who served on similar ships, the USS Lucid is not just a curiosity, it is a physical reminder of a dangerous mission that rarely makes it into Hollywood scripts. Organizers say the ship carries particular significance for visitors and veterans because it preserves “the very unique stuff” that defined minesweeping, from the wooden planking underfoot to the specialized gear used to cut mooring cables and neutralize explosives. One local leader, identified in coverage as Rajkovich, has emphasized that many residents have no idea this kind of Navy history is tied to their city, and that walking through the restored compartments can spark conversations that a textbook never will. By keeping the restoration faithful to the original layout, the team hopes to give former sailors a space where they can explain to their families what their work actually looked and felt like…