June 2, 1917
A little less than two months after the United States entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, the high-speed yacht Marold was commissioned in Boston for service in the U.S. Navy. This vessel had been built by the Ohio-based Matthews Boat Company in 1914 for engineer and businessman C. Harold Wills (1878-1940). “Marold” is a compound of “Harold” and the first name of his wife. (He and Mary Coyne Wills [1883-1975] were married during the same year in which he acquired Marold.)
An enthusiastic boat racer, C. Harold Wills belonged to both the Detroit Boat Club and Detroit Yacht Club. Notwithstanding his strong involvement in racing and the fact that Marold was designed for high speeds, Wills used that vessel primarily for ocean cruising to both Florida and the Bahamas.
Sometime around May 1917, drug store magnate Louis K. Liggett (1875-1946) purchased Marold. He subsequently brought the yacht from Detroit to Boston via the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. In Boston, Liggett formally handed over Marold to the Navy for wartime use.
After being commissioned as USS Marold (SP-737), this vessel was assigned to the 1st Naval District in the northern region of New England and based in the city of Rockland, Maine. She served as a section patrol craft in that part of the United States throughout the remainder of the war. About six months after the armistice ending World War I went into effect, Marold was returned to Liggett. (Marold is the vessel at the center in the accompanying photo taken during the war.)
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on USS Marold (SP-737), please check out https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/marold.html
Transportation History 
Leave a comment