The origins of The Navy Yard date back to the founding of the country in 1776, when the Continental Congress leased land along Philadelphia’s Front Street docks to support the new nation’s fledging Navy.  The land lease spanned three blocks inland along Washington Avenue just beyond the border between Queen Village and Pennsport. The site became an official part of the United States Navy in 1801, but was moved to its current location in South Philadelphia around the time of the Civil War.