The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard was established in 1891 as a Naval Station. In 1901 it was renamed the Navy Yard Puget Sound. In World War I its main purpose was to build ships, which included 25 subchasers, 7 submarines, 2 minesweepers, 7 seagoing tugs, 2 ammunition ships, and 1700 small boats. World War II saw the shipyard mainly repairing damage done to ships of the US and Allied fleet during battle.

After the war, it became known as the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Programs expanded to modernize carriers and convert conventional flight decks to angle decks. In the 1950s, a new mission was established to build a new class of guided missile frigates. The USS Sculpin was the first nuclear powered submarine maintained here, in 1965. The shipyard was part of the 1990 Ship-Submarine Recycling Program and pioneered a safe and environmental way of deactivating and recycling nuclear powered ships.