USS Essex was an Enterprise-class wooden-hulled armed naval steam sloop of war. She was built between 1874 and 1876 by Donald McKay at the Kitter Naval Yard of East Boston, Massachusetts. She was commissioned on 3 October 1876 by the United States Navy. On 23 December 1930 Essex was sold for scrap, and on 14 October 1931 she was taken to the beach just outside Duluth Harbor where they set fire to her; she eventually burned to the waterline. On 14 April 1994 the remains of Essex were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. She is significant because she is the only known remaining ship built by master shipbuilder Donald McKay.