9/03/22 USS Spiegel Grove

The USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) was a Thomaston-class dock landing ship. She was named for Spiegel Grove, the home and estate in Fremont, OH of Rutherford B. Hayes, thh 19th President of the United States. The USS Spiegel Grove spent much roughly 30 years in active military service, until she was decommissioned October 2, 1989 and transferred to the US Maritime Administration. In 1998, her title was passed to Florida with the plan of sinking the hull to make an artificial reef in Key Largo- which would have taken an increased amount of chemical substance in order to do so. The Spiegel Grove was then transferred to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, so that the ship could be safely sunk as an artificial reef system.