Indiana Army Ammunition Plant

The Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP) is a former military ammunition and ordinance factory in Charlestown, Indiana. It was the largest gunpowder and ordinance facility of its type in the United States. INAAP was constructed after the passage of the first National Defense Appropriations Act. Four days after the enactment of the Act, the Munitions Program was passed in which the U.S. Ordinance Department sponsored private manufacturing corporations to design and produce ammunition factories, producing smokeless gunpowder and other ordinances.







Table Of Contents

History

The development of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP) was mired in speculation during the lead up to World War II. Rumors of the plant’s construction began to spread when C.V. Artwell, a real estate operator from Delaware, began taking options on large tracts of land between Charlestown and the Ohio River. 30 The rumors proved true as in July 1940, the Courier-Journal newspaper announced that the world’s largest smokeless powder plant would be built near Charlestown. 1 It would be the largest facility in the Industrial Operations Command and contain 1,401 structures over 19,200 acres 1 10 11 costing $50 million to erect. 30

Within months, 13,000 workers from across the country descended upon the small town. 30 Street corner markets popped up, schools overflowed with new students, and rental prices for rooms became astronomically high. Rooms in town were rented per shift for sleeping purposes, and garages and chicken huts were converted into makeshift bedrooms. Seventeen mobile home parks were built that contained more units than Charlestown’s 250 homes. The post office went from one clerk to nine to handle the 300% increase in mail volume and surging money order requests that were related to INAAP’s $400,000 per week payroll.

The smokeless powder plant was one of three separate manufacturing facilities planned at INAAP which included Indiana Ordnance Works Plant No. 1 (IOW1) for smokeless powder, Hoosier Ordnance Plant (HOP) for load, assembly, and pack (LAP) operations, and Indiana Ordnance Works Plant No. 2 (IOW2) for the production of rocket propellent. 10 11 34

When the first defense construction funds became available in June 1940, a dispute between the Quartermaster Corps and the Ordnance Division as to who should have supervision over the building of Indiana Ordnance Works No. 1 (IOW1) at INAAP arose. 34 The Ordnance Division had negotiated an agreement with the E.I. du Pont de Nemours Company (DuPont) for the design, construction, and operation of IOW1 without consulting the Quartermaster Corps who was heading the newly created Construction Advisory Committee. It was in contradiction to the Defense Act of 1920 which took construction away from the Construction Division of the Army and handed it over to the Quartermaster Corps.

Ordnance Division officer Colonel James H. Burns tried to resolve the matter by outlining a procedure in which the Army would name firms to operate the plans and oversee construction of IOW1 while Brigadier General Charles D. Hartman of the Quartermaster Corps would choose building contractors. 34 The Assistant Secretary of War approved the procedure on July 11, 1940, but the Ordnance Division defied compliance just six days later by letting a construction contract to DuPont. 10 34 The Quartermaster Corps would oversee work. But by the end of the month, the Ordnance Division agreed to follow its initial procedure, which resulted in IOW1 being the only World War II-era munitions project for which a single contractor was solely responsible for all aspects of construction and operation of a plant. 34

Although contracts for plants where explosives were manufactured went to companies with experience in that type of production, contracts for bag and shell loading operations went to entities that had a variety of manufacturing and managerial experience. In October, discussions were initiated the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to construct the Hoosier Ordnance Plant (HOP) and the first contract for the operation of HOP was signed with the Goodyear Engineering Corporation (a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire & Rubber) on December 31. 34 Land acquisitions for HOP extended the boundary of INAAP southward, more than doubling the size of the facility by adding another 5,000 acres. On December 28, the design and engineering management of the construction of HOP was contracted to Shreve, Anderson & Walker Engineers & Architects, who designed the main buildings on the complex. Other structures, such as the Administration Building, fire stations, and cafeterias, were modified versions of standard drawings completed by the Construction Division of the Army and Quartermaster Corps during the 1930s.

Design

During World War I, 17 facilities had been constructed for the production of black powder and explosives, but none were intended to be permanent facilities and at the end of the war, all were dismantled or burned. 34 INAAP’s IOW1 would be the first permanent installation and was to be built of concrete, steel, and brick. Plans were prepared by DuPont’s Design Division which specified that brick was to be used in nearly all of the main buildings, with architectural accents that included the use of cast concrete and limestone to provide linear accents around entrances and windows. While most of the styling was industrial, the Administration Building was to be similar in style to simplified, late-WPA architecture.

But the idea of permanence was short-lived and such grandeur was abandoned, with an order to design only temporary or semi-permanent buildings at HOP coming less than a month after the contract to Goodyear was awarded. 34 Cost-cutting measures forced all plans for permanent facilities to be downgraded, with steel and brick to be used only if it was not practical to use other materials, replaced with unpainted wood framing and asbestos sheathing. These measures helped reduce construction costs by over $10 per square foot. Generally, buildings at IOW1 were designed to last at least 20 years while the ones at HOP were only designed to last just five years.

Construction

Construction on IOW1 began on August 26, 1940, 11 34 although actual building did not get underway until September 4. 34 By November, duPont had over 10,000 laborers on site 10 working three shifts to keep overtime to a minimum. 34 Employment reached its peak in May 1941 when there were 27,520 persons employed, 18,884 that were employed as contractors, 8,270 as subcontractors, and 336 as civilian Quartermaster Corps employees.

Initially, IOW1 was to have two powder lines, but the scope of the work changed to include four and then six lines, and the addition of lines that would process dimethylaniline (DMA) and diphenylamine (DPA). 34 Despite the costly work changes, IOW1 was completed seven weeks ahead of schedule on May 31, 1942, 34 at the cost of $74,956,394, 11 or 146% over budget. 34 It contained 800 buildings divided into four areas: 9 10 11

  • Administration: Included an administration building, telephone exchange, hospital, repair shop, cafeteria, and guard headquarters.
  • Smokeless Powder Manufacturing Area: Included six parallel, nearly identical manufacturing lines with two ammonium oxidation plants, two nitrocellulose manufacturing and purification areas, two nitric and sulfuric acid concentration plants, and two propellant manufacturing and finishing areas. Major support areas included an aniline manufacturing area, two coal-fired power plants with 68,750 KVA turbogenerators, and 450 above-ground storage tanks.
  • Storage and Shipping Area: Included 100 above ground magazines, and storage and shipping houses.
  • River Ridge: A residential neighborhood for high ranking officials that included 17 two-story wood-frame houses, and amenities such as a baseball diamond, basketball court, community center, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, a swimming pool, and volleyball court.

The buildings were numbered by function: 34

  • 100 Area: Nitrocellulose production
  • 200 area: Powder production
  • 300 area: Acid production
  • 400 area: Power
  • 500 area: Utilities
  • 600 area: Miscellaneous services
  • 700 area: Administration
  • 900 area: Organics

Construction on HOP began on February 5, 1941, 34 was partially in operation by September 2, 10 34 and finished on February 2, 1942, at the cost of $27,851,660 11 by Winston Brothers, C.F. Haglin & Sons, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron, and Sollitt Construction. 11 34 The load, assembly, and pack facility was used to prepare cannon, artillery, and mortar projectiles and had five distinct areas: 9 10

  • Administration: Included an administration building, change house, and hospital. The hospital (Building 719) served as a hospital and laboratory and included male and female wards, a laboratory, X-Ray equipment, and a whirlpool. 9 (It later became Employment Building 2601, and a laboratory from 1987 to 1990.)
  • Production, Maintenance, and Storage Area: Included a bag manufacturing building, an inert stores warehouse, a repair shop, a fire station, and a heating plant.
  • Charging Area: Included eight load lines for bag loading smokeless powder and four igniter lines for bag loading black powder.
  • Powder Magazine Area: Included 177 earth-covered, steel-reinforced concrete igloos.
  • River Ridge: The addition of 17 two-story wood-frame houses.

On October 31, 1944, DuPont was issued a change order giving it the green light for the construction of IOW2, a rocket propellent plant with three lines to manufacture double-base smokeless powder. 34 Operations would have included the production of nitroglycerine to be mixed with nitrocellulose to form a paste, which was to be shaped into forms to be used as rocket propellent.

Nearly 8,000 acres of land were acquired for IOW2 because of the high volatility of nitroglycerine. 34 Construction began on December 8, 1944, 11 34 and a small amount of propellant was processed in July and August 1945. 10 34 IOW2 was never completed and all operations ceased on August 13, 11 two weeks after Japan surrendered. 34

In total, there were 1,700 buildings at IOW1, HOP, and IOW2 that were completed over 19,200 acres at the cost of $133.4 million. 10 30 Broken down, it included 34 administrative buildings with 186,583 square feet; 2 hospitals; 576 production buildings with 2,052,521 square feet; 3 research and design buildings at 3,992 square feet; 114 standard magazines at 299,311 square feet; 21 utility buildings at 279,681 square feet; 176 igloos at 646,887 square feet; 149 warehouses at 617,019 square feet; and 566 miscellaneous structures at 3,302,029 square feet.

INAAP featured 30 miles of fence, 84 miles of railroad track equally served by the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads, three railroad yards (Bethany that could hold 60 cars with explosive materials in HOW; Ridley that could hold 425 cars in IOW1; and Watson that could hold 200 cars with inert materials in HOP), and 190 miles of roadway, 5 miles of which were unpaved. INAAP was also served by several sanitary surge disposal units that could handle nearly 1.5 million gallons per day, and numerous deepwater wells along the Ohio River that could supply the site with 50,200 gallons per minute.

Due to the presence of black powder and other highly volatile materials, safety was one of the utmost concerns at INAAP. Buildings were spread far from one another to diminish the chance of a mass explosion, and copper-lined transfer chutes were utilized that reduced airborne powder movement. 10 Emergency slides were installed in some buildings to provide a quick escape. Conductive shoes were issued for workers to reduce static electricity, and employees were searched daily for matches and other hazardous materials.

Initial Production

IOW1 began producing smokeless powder and black powder for HOP for LAP operations on April 11, 1941, 23 days ahead of schedule. 10 11 34 Single-base smokeless powder, or nitrocellulose, was used as a propellant for a projectile, while black powder was used to ignite the smokeless powder. As portions of IOW1 were still under construction, the powder had to be nitrated elsewhere, but it was plasticized and run through the blocking and extruding presses, and cut at the brand new plant. 34 By July, IOW1 had produced twice as much powder as the entire nation had for the entire year for 1940. 10 30

Four of the six lines at IOW1 that produced smokeless powder were devoted to the manufacture of multi-perforated cannon powder which could utilize both cotton linters and wood pulp as the nitrocellulose base. 34 The other two lines were used to produce single perforated cannon powder and rifle powder, for which cotton linters were needed for the nitrocellulose base. (Full description of how smokeless powder was produced can be found in the Smokeless Powder Production article.)

On the morning of August 15, 1945, the commanding officer at INAAP received a teletype directing that all production cease, with the exception of two types of smokeless powder. 34 A skeleton force kept up minimal production until October 5 when the final lot of powder was packed. A few DuPont employees were kept to decontaminate the plant and put it in layaway, and it became a government-owned, government-operated (GOGO) facility on February 11, 1946.

Peak employment at IOW1 included 27,250 contractors and 366 government officials by May 1941. 11

HOP began operations on September 2, 1941. 30 It included weighing smokeless powder, placing it into a bag, and sewing it shut. Each charge consisted of up to seven bags of powder secured together. The increments were placed in an outer charge bag and then packed in containers and shipped or warehoused. At the center of HOP was the Bag Manufacturing Building that included 1,500 power-driven sewing machines, slitting machines, and conveyors. 34

Nitrocellulose from IOW1 was loaded into bags made at HOP. 30 The hallmark product was a 16-inch diameter bag of powder that when loaded six deep in the breach of a battleship’s turret, could propel a 2,750-pound bullet 25 miles.

HOP employed 8,902 contractors and 87 government officials by March 20, 1945, which rapidly shrank by the time production ceased on August 18. 11

IOW2 operated between July 20, 1945, and August 31. 11 The facility was designed to manufacture double-base rocket powder which was unlike single-base in that it consisted of a 60 to 40 ratio of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin and was used to power bazookas and other rocket-based weapons. IOW2 produced 292,700 lbs. of rocket powder during its short operation. 10

Employment at IOW2 peaked at 17,585 contractors and 36 government officials by June 1945. IOW2 was placed into standby status on February 11, 1946, and never reactivated. 11 For the World War II effort, HOP had produced 116,181,170 propellant and black powder charges, nearly half of which were for the 105 mm howitzer, and had packed more than 529 million pounds of smokeless and black powder. 34

IOW1, HOP, and IOW2 were consolidated into the Indiana Arsenal on November 30, 1945, as designated under the WD Circular No. 329. 9 11 34 On December 17, the government assumed control of INAAP. 34

Post-World War II

Between June 24, 1946, and March 31, 1950, DuPont reused IOW1 to produce an ammonium nitrate aqueous solution for agricultural purposes to aid occupied areas (Marshall Plan) under a CPFF contract. 11 34 Employment peaked at 156 workers in February 1947, and production peaked at 20,241 tons of ammonium in August 1949.

At IOW2, 44 above-ground magazines were used for propellant storage from January 1946 to August 1952. 11 Afterward, 5,000 acres of the land purchased for IOW2 was excessed. 34

The Indiana Arsenal was to be ready to go into operation on a massive scale within 120 days and to be used to store War Department materials. 34 This included about 1,000 pieces of Joint Army-Navy Machine Tools which were maintained there at the nation’s only Machine Tool Surveillance Laboratory.

Korean War

INAAP was partially reactivated in 1948 because of warfare activities relating to the Korean War. 1 10 HOW was reactivated by Goodyear Engineering on September 17, 1951, followed by IOW1 by DuPont on April 28, 1952. 11 Employment peaked with 8,067 employees by August 1953. During the war, 50 new storage and maintenance buildings were constructed on-site.

Production at HOW ceased on September 20, 1957, followed by IOW1 on September 30. 11 INAAP was placed into standby status, and Goodyear and DuPont were listed as the caretakers of the complex until 1959 when it was taken over by the Liberty Powder Defense Corporation, a subsidiary of the Olin Mathieson Chemical. 1 10

Vietnam War

On November 1, 1960, 11 Liberty Powder Defense reactivated HOW’s bag manufacturing line to produce cloth bags for 105mm artillery charges for the Vietnam War effort. 10 Olin Mathieson dissolved Liberty Powder in January 1961 and took over direct control of the plant’s operations which coincided with the reactivation of the HOP igniter and propellant loading lines which were supplied black powder and smokeless powder from other ammunition factories. 10 34 There was a slight change in operations regarding the HOP, as it was now expected that it would debag, dry, blend, and cross blend propellent to be reloaded into charges. 34

INAAP was not officially reactivated until August 23, 1961, 11 and was designated the Indiana Ordnance Plant by DAGO No. 40 on November 1. On August 1, 1963, the facility was re-designated as the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant by DAGO No. 35. 9 11

In 1966, Igloo 5185 was destroyed in an unplanned explosion, the only one to ever occur at INAAP. 9 With demand accelerating, Olin reactivated part of IOW1’s smokeless powder manufacturing lines in 1969, and employment peaked at INAAP with 11,492 workers by August 1970. 11 In February 1971, work wrapped up on the installation of electrostatic precipitators to remove dust, ash, and other participles in smokestack emissions at the power plants and on the replacement of the Ammonia Oxidation Plant with a pollution-free facility, removing a source of nitrogen oxide fumes that produced a yellowish cloud over the plant at times. 14

Olin continued to manage INAAP until 1972, when ICI America, a subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries, took control. 10 Other than maintaining INAAP in a state of readiness, the company was tasked with renovating used charge storage containers. 34

Cold War

The federal government began a modernization project of its ammunition manufacturing facilities after the United States withdrew from Vietnam. 10 ICI America began construction of three new facilities at INAAP, including a fully automated black powder production plant in an attempt to limit personnel exposure to black powder, reduce costs, and lower workforce numbers.

In December 1974, Santa Fe Engineering began construction of a the Black Powder Manufacturing Facility, with ICI America responsible for process equipment design, equipment procurement, installation, and startup activities. 18 35 The new 30-acre, nine building facility was completed in December 1978 10 18 at the cost of $32.3 million. 35 It was expected that the new plant would produce the Army with eight grades of powder and a special mixture for flare propellant to be used in more than 120 applications, notably in producing primers and igniters, with a capacity of 500,000 pounds of black powder per month on a 3-8-5 production schedule. 16 35 It was designed to be operated by remote control using computerized systems with only ten employees. 18

It featured nine manufacturing buildings, change house, maintenance shop/boiler house, industrial radar security system, and an integrated fire protection system with a high speed deluge. 35 It also included the rarely used Black Powder Sanitary Sewage Treatment Plant, which featured a rapid mix chamber, flocculation chamber, settling chamber, filter sludge holding tank, final aeration, and chlorination, and the Black Powder Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant that was non-operational for its lifespan. 9

Debugging that occured throughout 1979 9 led to the determination that additional engineering improvements was required to correct major problems in the black powder fines recycling system, electrical grid grounding system, process humidity control, and black powder conveyance systems. 18 Inert material began to be processed through the plant during prove-out in 1980. 9 The deficiencies were corrected on schedule and within cost by February 1982, although other minor modifications were conducted through to August. In February and March 1983, 2,200 pounds of black powder was produced.

The Black Powder Manufacturing Facility concluded its live explosive prove-out on April 15, 1983, 18 and the facility was formally dedicated on April 22 after nine years of development. 18 It was one of two such plants in the nation, the other at Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Despite its completion, the Black Powder Manufacturing Facility was never put into production as it could not meet production quotas because of an outdated computer system dating to 1974 and other design flaws that would have been too costly to correct. 23

Elsewhere, a semi-automated loading line for 105mm charges was completed in 1980 followed by a semi-automated loading line for 8 inch and 155 mm charges in 1981. 10 Both facilities were placed into standby status.

Post Cold War

INAAP’s fortunes and employment levels were closely tied to military contracts and military engagements. During the Vietnam War, employment numbers were sustained at around 19,600 workers but this dropped to just 700 workers by 1976 as the conflict began winding down. 10 During the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, 1,500 contractors worked on-site. A decline in military contracts led to major layoffs in 1987.

Seeking a way to reuse INAAP’s vast facilities, officials sought to land Atlantic Research Corporation’s new production plant for the production of advanced solid rocket motors for NASA’s space shuttles on the site of IOW2 and the Black Powder Manufacturing Facility. 17 Ultimately, it chose to locate at an unfinished Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear power plant in Yellow Creek, Mississippi 10 17 in 1987. 20

There was also hope that INAAP would be a forerunner for a $350 million 22 research explosives production plant to supplement the sole RDX facility at Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee. 13 In the event of a military attack, sabotage, or accident, it was feared that the production capability of RDX would be immobilized if production efforts remained solely at one site. In addition, the Holston plant had insufficient space for the construction of additional production facilities and had been operating beyond its design capabilities for years. Other contenders were the Iowa Ammunition Plant site in Middletown, Iowa, the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant in Joliet, Illinois, and the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The proposed RDX plant at INAAP would cover 25 to 50 acres, employ 300, and be capable of producing 2½ million pounds of RDX per month.10 22 Congress allotted $75,000 for an environmental impact study for the RDX plant at INAAP. 22 In the end, the RDX facility was never built.

In February 1989, the Army sought a private firm to operate the automated Black Powder Manufacturing Facility for 20 to 25 years. 16 23 Three companies, GOEX of Moosic, Pennsylvania, Ensign-Bickford Industries, and ICI America toured the facility, however, no decision was made to utilize the plant.

Closure

The failure to land the booster rocket plant and the RDX factory, and a reduction of production orders after nearly a decade of stockpiling charges over the Cold War, convinced the Army to consider the closure of INAAP. The facilities had become outdated and its functions were replaced with modern facilities that utilized a faction of the space and workforce. 32 Technology and progress had simply passed INAAP. On March 10, 1989, approximately one-third of the workforce at INAAP were laid off, including 388 production and maintenance jobs, 51 technical positions, 39 clerical and secretarial jobs, 86 management and supervisory positions, and one guard. 15

Production at INAAP ceased in August 1991 and the Army was prepared to lay off 1,003 employees. 12 U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton and U.S. Senator Dan Coats, however, helped INAAP obtain two munitions orders to prepare a line of propellant charges for other Army depots and to produce a large quantity of 155mm propellant charges. Production at INAAP ceased again after the contract was completed in October 1992 and 750 were laid off. 10

During its tenure from 1941 to 1992, INAAP had produced 3.2 billion pounds of black powder. 30

After its closure, the INAAP was placed into a modified caretaker status and maintained by ICI America. 1 Under the Armament Retooling and Manufacturing Support (ARMS) legislation, the company was permitted to seek long-term adaptive reuse of INAAP with the goal of reducing property holding costs while maintaining military ownership. 29 When ICI America executives approached the county about sharing reuse proceeds and paying to have a study on the issue completed, the county lobbied for total control of INAAP’s grounds.

In 1994, the Army plant commander’s office closed its post and INAAP was transferred to civilian patrol. 2 The facility’s maintenance was transferred to Tecumseh Professional Services who sought to construct an industrial park on part of INAAP’s sprawling grounds. On May 9, 1995, INAAP was renamed Facility One. 1

Several lawsuits were filed by local municipalities and the county over attempts by several communities to annex parts of INAAP. 10 To quell the issue, Congressman Lee Hamilton sponsored special legislation in 1997 that would transfer 6,000 acres of INAAP to the Clark County Reuse Authority (then known as the INAAP Reuse Authority) for redevelopment under a long-term lease. The remaining 4,000 acres would go to the formation of Charlestown State Park. 29 On November 30, 2000, the Army signed an interim lease agreement with the Clark County Reuse Authority.

Redevelopment

INAAP featured immense environmental problems from 50 years of black powder and explosive material manufacturing. 10 An environmental study conducted in 1995 identified 87 contaminated areas with another 53 areas cited as potential problems. 10 A follow-up study in 1998 estimated that it would take more than $250 million to remedy the environmental issues. Another study by the Army Corps of Engineers pegged the cost at $33 million. 6 Over 1,000 buildings would require remediation and demolition. 26

A master development plan released in June 2001 by Facility One’s successor River Ridge called for a fifth of INAAP’s grounds to be redeveloped for light industrial use, which included the demolition of all of ammunition production buildings. 8

Demolition began on INAAP’s Igniter Lines on February 6, 2004. 24 As they contained gunpowder dust and other explosive residues, the 64 buildings were set ablaze during times when winds were predominately out of the west or southwest. 25 The burns left elevated levels of lead present in the local atmosphere for a brief period of time, and the winds carried any contamination toward unpopulated areas. 27

On June 1, 2005, the Army granted River Ridge title to 2,308 acres of INAAP at the cost of $1,131 per acre. 31 Twenty-four additional acres consisting of administration buildings were transferred in April 2008 and were converted into the Charlestown Business Center and Wilson Education Center. 28

The two coal power plants, unused since 1992, were demolished from October 2011 until late 2012 at the cost of $1.1 million. 33 The contract, awarded to ADS Trinity, involved scrapping 335 tons of salvageable materials from the site and the demolition of the 120,000 and 145,000 square-foot structures and their 180-foot smokestacks.


Administration Area

Propellant & Explosives Area

Other


Buildings

Air Test House

After packing the powder into shipping containers, the powder is taken to the Air Test House where each container is checked to ensure that it is air-tight. This is done to prevent the powder from collecting moisture which can modify its ballistic nature.

Blending & Wringer House Building 113

The Blending and Wringer House at IOW No. 1 was part of the nitration process. 34 In order to obtain a uniform propellant and ballistic characteristic, portions of batches that have a high nitrogen content were mixed with portions that have a low nitrogen content. Slurry from the poaching tubs in the Poaching House was fed onto vibrating screens where nitrocellulose was blended until there was 13.15% nitrogen content, which passed into collecting boxes.

The boxes were then emptied into tubs where guncotton and pyrocellulose were blended. If the sample from the tub had satisfactory nitrogen and solubility content, the slurry was pumped into the Wringer House. At the Wringer House, the large amounts of water that were used throughout the process to move the nitrocellulose are removed. The containers of partially dry nitrocellulose were transported to the Dehydration/Press House via lag cars.

Boiling Tub House (Stabilization) Building 108

Nitrocellulose was immersed in water at the Nitrating House and then pumped to the Boiling Tub House at IOW No. 1 where impurities were removed by boiling for 40 to 70 hours. 34 It was then sent to the Pulping House.

Box Store House Building 223

Change House Building 707

Comfort Station Building 727

Control Circulation Dry House Building 220

The Control Circulation Dry House at IOW No. 1 dried the remaining solvent out of the powder before it went to the blending tower, where it would be blended to achieve a set burn rate.

Cotton Dry House Building 104

The Cotton Dry House at IOW No. 1 was where cotton linters (short fibers that cling to cottonseeds after the first ginning) was delivered in 150-pound bales or wood pulp was delivered in rolls of 700 pounds and subsequently shredded. 34 They were then pretreated in large ovens to reduce the moisture to less than 1% before being blown in ducts to the Nitrating House.

Dehydration Press House Building 202

The Dehy Press House at IOW No. 1 featured multiple Loomis or a Baldwin-Southwark press that was used to simultaneously compact and add denatured ethyl alcohol to the nitrocellulose, dispelling the remaining moisture, and compacting the nitrocellulose into blocks. 34 The blocks, which came from the Loomis Press, weighed about 69.5 pounds each. They were then sent to the Mixer House.

Ether-Mix House Building 206

Horizontal Press House Building 211

Blocks from the Mixer House were sent to the Horizontal Press House at IOW No. 1, where they were pushed through a macaroni press to again screen out foreign materials, then formed into blocks and then extruded through dies. 34 The extrusion process shaped the nitrocellulose into strands that were cut to lengths determined by the type of charge they were to fill.

Igloos

Igniter Lines

The Igniter Lines at HOP was where black powder was loaded into cloth bags.

Knife Grinding & Die Shop Building 217-2

Laboratory Building 706-2 and 706-3

Main Laboratory Building 706-1

Mixer House Building 208

The Mixer House at IOW No. 1 mixed and kneaded powder that came from the Dehydration Press House. It was where dinitrotoluene (DNT), ether (from the Ether-Mix House), DPA, dibutylphthalate (DBP), and other ingredients were added. 34 Each Baker-Perkins mixer and kneading machine had a 100-gallon capacity.

NC Lag Storage Building 201

Moisture content was checked at the NC Lag Storage at IOW No. 1 after the nitrocellulose was shipped from the Blending and Wringer House.

Nitrating House Building 105

With shredded cotton being brought in from the Cotton Dry House, 32 pounds of cellulose fiber were mixed in stainless steel nitrators that contained 1,500 pounds of nitric and sulfuric acids that were blended together at the Nitrating House at IOW No. 1. The treated nitrocellulose and spent acids were then discharged from the bottom into centrifugal wringers that removed most of the acid through the exterior of the wringer. The acid was used in the production of pyrocellulose or fortified for reuse. Wet nitrated cotton was then immersed in water and the slurry was transferred to the Boiling Tub Houses.

Poacher House Building 112

The poaching process at the Poacher House at IOW No. 1 was conducted to reduce the acidity of the nitrocellulose. It also reduced the fibers remaining to minute fragments in a mechanical operation. Hot water washes in sodium carbonate, an alkaline solution, further reduced acidity. The nitrocellulose was then bathed in cold water under mechanical agitators to purify the nitrocellulose and ensure for longer shelf life. Samples were sent to a nearby laboratory to determine the percentage of nitrogen, the solubility of the ether-alcohol mixture, and the fineness degree. Pyro and high grade were combined in the Blending and Wringer House.

Power Pack House Building 221

Nitrocellulose was sent from Building 220 to the Power Pack House at IOW No. 1 for blending. 34 Because of slight differences in each batch of powder that was produced, several batches were mixed in the blending towers to make one uniform lot of about 150,000 pounds.

Power Plant Building 2541

Power Plant Building 2541 at HOP was used to provide steam heat for nearby buildings.

Power Plant Building 401-1

Power Plant Building 401-1 and 401-2 at IOW No. 1 were completed in 1941 and included 68,750 KVA turbogenerators. 9 10 11 The facilities were upgraded with electrostatic precipitators to remove dust, ash, and other participles in smokestack emissions at the power plants in February 1971. 14

The power plants, unused since 1992, were demolished from October 2011 until late 2012 at the cost of $1.1 million. 33

Power Plant Building 401-2

Process Engineering Division Building 706

Pulping House Building 109

The Pulping House at IOW No. 1 was where nitrocellulose fibers were cut into short segments to open the embedded fibers which exposed any remaining impurities in the capillary channels. During this process, a very large amount of water was used, which resulted in a slurry that was pumped into the Poaching House.

Pump House Building 402

Scrap Rework House Building 209

Scrap black powder was mixed with production black powder at the Scrap Rework House at IOW No. 1, and if it was not possible to reuse the powder because of residual acid, the product would be disposed of with a burn.

Solvent Recovery House Building 214

The Solvent Recovery Houses at IOW No. 1 were where solvents, ether, and alcohol were extracted from the black powder.

Sulfuric Acid Concentration House Building 303

The Sulfuric Acid Concentration Plant produced sulfuric acid by melting and burning raw sulfur, which produced sulfur dioxide gas. The gas was then passed over catalytic beds that produced sulfur trioxide gas, which was absorbed through distilled water that produced sulfuric acid.

Vertical Dress House Building 234

Warehouse Building 101

The warehouse at IOW No. 1 was where cotton linters and wood pulp was stored at.

Water Dry House Building 219

The Water Dry House was where powder containing 3% to 5% of the solvent arrived from the Debagging House and aged to free it of any remaining solvent. The powder was soaked in water and sent to the Control Circulation Dry House.


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  5. Lee, Uy Grace. ‘CHARLESTOWN; State park will get $1 million road work.’ Courier-Journal (Louisville) 20 August, 1999. 30 Dec. 2006.
  6. Hershberg, Ben Z. ‘Old Army plant faces much work.’ Courier-Journal (Louisville) 27 Dec., 2000. 30 Dec. 2006.
  7. Hall, Gregory A. ‘Charlestown may tear down old railroad viaduct near Ind. 62.’ Courier-Journal (Louisville) 24 April, 2001. 30 Dec. 2006.
  8. Hall, Gregory A. ‘Ammo plant master plan is approved.’ Courier-Journal (Louisville) 19 June, 2001. 30 Dec. 2006.
  9. “Installation Action Plan for Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.” United States Army Corps of Engineers. March 2001. June 25, 2007.
  10. Stifler, Luke and Susan Bennett. “A Historical Guide to the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.” Charlestown-Clark County Public Library 2007. 15 April 2009.
  11. “Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, Under the Command of LTC G.R. Daughterty.” 26 March, 1969 to 8 July, 1971.
  12. Quinlan, Michael. “Ammo plant jobs to last year longer than expected.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 3 Oct. 1990. 20 April 2009.
  13. Abby, Margaret. “Research explosives plant could bring up to 8,000 jobs to Clark County Area.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 19 Aug. 1987. 20 April 2009.
  14. Buckler, Warren. “Army will install equipment for control of air pollution at Indiana Ammunition Plant.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 17 June 1970. 20 April 2009: I-1.
  15. Goetz, David. “Army ammunition plant to lay off 565 by April 1.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 11 Jan. 1989. 20 April 2009.
  16. Benmour, Eric. “Ammo plant seeks contracts to avoid added layoffs.” Louisville Business First 13 March 1989. 20 April 2009: 6.
  17. Goetz, David. “Charlestown apparently out as site of rocket plant.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 22 March 1988. 20 April 2009.
  18. “$40 million black powder plant dedicated at C-town.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 23 April 1983. 20 April 2009.
  19. “Study of Ammo Plant Tract Set Next Spring.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 31 Dec. 1980. 20 April 2009.
  20. Margaret, Abby. “Hamilton says Charlestown site good prospect for NASA plant.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 6 Oct. 1987. 20 April 2009.
  21. “Two Indiana munitions plants to add 445 civilian jobs.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 6 Feb. 1984. 20 April 2009.
  22. Goetz, David. “Hopes for 8,000 jobs at ammo plant explode.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 20 Aug. 1987. 20 April 2009.
  23. Goetz, David. “Army wants to recruit an enterprising ‘private’ to run idle powder plant.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 23 Dec. 1988. 20 April 2009.
  24. 24. Davis, Alex. “Ammo plant burn rules will change.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 11 Feb. 2004. 20 April 2009.
  25. Adams, Harold J. “Conditions ‘perfect’ for building fires.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 22 Feb. 2004. 20 April 2009.
  26. Gilmour, Maggie A.J. “Old ammo plant site will soon get a new tenant – an IDX factory.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 25 July 2006. 20 April 2009.
  27. Davis, Alex. “State may monitor ammo plant fires.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 14 May 2004. 20 April 2009.
  28. Gapsis, Greg. “River Ridge gets 24 INAAP acres.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 13 April 2008. 20 April 2009.
  29. Gapsis, Greg. “Transfer could signal big changes down the road for River Ridge.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 30 April 2005. 20 April 2009.
  30. Gapsis, Greg. “End of an era.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 27 April 2005. 20 April 2009.
  31. Gapsis, Greg. “River Ridge authority gets INAAP acreage.” Evening News (Jeffersonville) 1 June 2005. 20 April 2009.
  32. Moss, Dale. “Ammo plant tours offer reunion and introduction.” Courier-Journal (Louisville) 30 May 2008. 20 April 2009.
  33. Karman III, John R. “River Ridge razing power plants to free more land for development.” Business First [Louisville] 28 Oct. 2011: n.p. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.
  34. Gaither, Steve and Kimberly L. Kane. “The World War II Ordnance Department’s Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) Industrial Facilities: Indiana Army Ammunition Plant Historic Investigation.” US Army Corps of Engineers, Dec. 1995.
  35. Black Powder Manufacturing Facility at Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. ICI Americas Inc., 1982.

51 Comments

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I installed concret cattle guards there in summer of 1963. Little did I know that 2 years later I would be in Vietnam probably launching aryillery rounds from poducts made there. My son lives in that area now. It saddens me to go by there and think of all the death caused by wars. Was there several years ago before the demolition begin. Very sad.

Love this! I have been going there (3 times now) for a total of 13 hours taking pictures. It is a fantastic place. I plan to do more in the spring. Your pictures are very inspiring and your info adds a lot to the adventure. Thank you. Come see me on Facebook if you would like. @shadyrover

Excellent Job capturing these buildings and the pictures excellent as well, my wife’s father my aunt and a neighbor worked there. We will visit the Charlestown Library or next trip to IN. We have two sons with families living on the Knobs. We hope to find my wife’s fathers name in the archives. Thanks again!
P.S. Have you looked at the Louisville Naval Ordnance Plant it’s not as big as the power plant but it has many WWll buildings as well.

Is there any way of getting access to the houses on this property? I’d love to take a look before they are destroyed.

There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone. The power plant buildings are already gone.

My mom worked there in the 60’s I remember riding as a child to pick her up at work and now I drive the same route and turns 45 yrs later to work in one of the new companies, it’ all so bittersweet.

There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone

There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone.

There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone. The power plant buildings are already gone.

opps, I just wrote a request above and listed the wrong location. I meant the Indiana Ammunitions Depot. I am doing a lot of research at the moment and accidentally pasted my question with wrong location.
Thanks for any help you can provide

I worked at the plant during the summer of 1970 or 71 as a summer college job when it was managed by Olin Matheson. I worked in several places along the lines producing propellent for 155mm and 175mm artillery, I began in the De-Hy house shoveling 75# of the wet nitrocellulose into the vertical presses , pushing the carts of compressed nitrocellulose “tablets” to the mixer house , then pushing the carts of cylindrical powder blocks wet with ether to the horizontal press house. I was able to “bid up” to operating one of the horizontal presses (building 211) which used 6000 psi water to extrude the powder blocks through a die into seveal ‘ropes’ collected in the buckets, and then over to the cutter machines where the ‘ropes’ were cut into small pellets before being carried in barrels by hand out the back door and dumped into railroad hopper cars for drying and bagging. Hot, heavy work, with the plant running 24/7, and I worked a rotating shift schedule 7-3, 3-11, 11-7. We wore flame proof jump suits with safety glasses, high top safety shoes stamped “USA” across the toe, and a flame proof hat – very hot (and you darn well better have them on and buttoned up when the white coat safety inspectors came around!) Everytime before I applied the high pressure to the press, I had to ring a bell so that anyone working on the cutter machines stepped to the side, so that if the press blew, the direct blast would miss the cutter operators. The explosion hazard was not from the powder itself, but from compressive heating / ignition of any ether pockets inside the powder blocks. Each building was equipped with a solvent (for either the ether or alcohol fumes) recovery system with air coming in from above and air drawn out below the slotted floor carrying the solvent fumes. It required that all the external doors and windows be kept closed, increasing the temp even more. The system didn’t work very well, and the ether would make us feel even more tired by the end of the shift. We punched in on our time cards at the front gate, and then had a pat down by security to insure there were no lighters, matches, or even combs which might produce a static spark. Then we took a bus to the change house to put on our safety clothes. Those pictures really bring back the memories! Very nostalgic for me. Interestingly, parts of the plant were really starting to decay even when I worked there, and everything was very OLD, and it felt like I was working in a factory from a history book. Some of the building had the roofs blown off by earlier explosions, but they were not repaired, but just left. The buildings were all made with extremely thick brick walls and thin sheet metal roofs so that any explosive blast woudl go up and not out to the adjacent buildings.
Thanks for the pictures and the history!

The homes are not only still here, I live in one! It’s called the Pleasant Ridge subdivision. The locals lovingly refer to it as “The Projects”. Current Mayor wants to bulldoze the entire subdivision as many of the homes are in poor shape and houses undesireable folks. More than half the city’s police calls are to the subdivision. If he’s voted out of office, the plans will be shelved, but it’ll still be just a matter of time as these homes were not built to be here this long.

Jay Hollis My mother delivered triplets in our Pleasant Ridge home at 214 Marcy St! I was the only girl child to survive born in 1946! Those homes were built as temporary housing! It’s a travesty to see how many of them look today! It’s depressing to go back!

Ken, As I was reading your comment I was thinking I could have written it because I worked in Building 211 as a college student in the summer of 1969. I operated the finishing press that is well lit in one of the photos of building 211. It is the second to last horizontal press in the photo. It’s amazing to see that room and that press that I spent so many hours on during that long hot summer. I was on swing shift on July 20,1969 for the first moon landing. Management piped in audio so we could listen to the landing. BTW, I always described the strings of powder coming out of the press as yellow extension cords.

I am working on a project for several major sponsors on American manufacturing. We are looking at both past and current manufacturing plants and farming in America. I came across your website in my research and saw you have photographed the old Scranton Lace Company. I am trying to find someone who can guide me to the property managers or owner for permission to visit and take some photos of the plant. I am hoping you can guide me to that person? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. By the way, beautiful work on your part. I to am a professional photographer, much of my work is assignment providing visuals for clients who write on historic topics for the educational industry. I also do a lot of architectural work. If interested you can visit my website at williammanning.com.
Thank you for any help you can provide.

William

As a child I lived on River Ridge in the late 60’s. Where can I find photos of the homes. I found one but there was too much overgrowth to see the houses. Are they still there?

The houses are still there. Check Google maps. Everything is very much overgrown though. Developments still have yet to reach there somehow. I would have thought in 2022 the houses would be gone by now, but somehow they are not!

Is there still anything left of this place today? I would love to check this place out and get some pics! Hopefully it hasn’t been taken down or ruined by degenerates ….

Does anyone know where I might find original photos of the Administration Building in the Pleasant Ridge subdivision, located at 209 Halcyon in Charlestown?

I drive by the plant everyday on my way to work. There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone. The power plant buildings are already gone.

My uncle Gerald O. Martz was one of the first civilian residents of River Ridge 1942 – 1945. I believe he was a chief engineer for the Du Pont company at the time. My family was visiting with them around summer of 1943 when one of the buildings caught fire and a couple of men died – my uncle was so in angst that he could not flip a light switch since he was a supervisor in the plant. His family would have been one of the original occupiers of the first 17, 2 story residence units. Are there in records anywhere of employees and civilian residents during the WW II years?

[…] Or an ammo plant? Originally Posted by scootn103 Second that ! We did at one point (Abandoned | Indiana Ammunitions Depot – Abandoned) Everything is still there, just like everybody up and left one day…its pretty cool. Grandma used […]

This is an amazing collection of pictures. I would live to see this place. Is there anything left there now? I would like to see it before it’s all gone.

I drive by the plant everyday on my way to work. There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone. The power plant buildings are already gone.

I drive by the plant everyday on my way to work. There’s no longer very much to see. Commercial development in the area is heavy and I give the whole area less than a year before it’s all gone. The power plant buildings are already gone.

Just gotta say I’ve visited and explored the plant a couple times recently and the place is amazing! Thanks for all the great pictures that inspired me to go. The place really has a surreal beauty to it that no camera can truly capture. I recomend anyone who can to go and explore this piece of WWII history before it is destroyed and lost forever. I am wondering if you happened to find Supervisor’s Office 704-7? It is filled with a bunch of random stuff that someone seems to have hoarded there over the years. I’m wondering if some of the buildings in IOW 1 were ever sold to private individuals to make some quick money for the county.

[…] Going back to World War II. the Charlestown, Indiana site was first put in production in 1941 and operated initially by DuPont, a company with a seriously screwed up environmental record. The plant produced smokeless powder for World War II, and came to be known locally as the “Powder Plant.” It formerly closed in 1992, after 51 years of industrial production. For a comprehensive history of the Plant (including photographs), visit: Abandoned: Indiana Ammunitions Depot. […]

I own a 1945 weapons carrier truck built at this plant. Its said only 4000 trucks were built there. Does anyone know what kind of military trucks were built at this plant for sure. Mine does have the Evansville plant tag. Trying to find out more info on my truck n where it was built and all other types of trucks besidesthe 1600 sherman tanks that were rebuilt there. Thx. Semper Fi!

I would appreciate a link to charlestownpowderplant.com!

FYI – Interesting article in Atlantic today: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/01/p

More FYI: As part of the environmental cleanup at the site, the Army requires the contractor to board up and secure the buildings when cleanup is finished. That has been done within the last 12 – 24 months. You are suspected of being the party removing those boards to enter the buildings.

I have a beautiful 300 ounce analytical balance used to load powder (perhaps in the lab?) and a working hygrothermograph used to monitor temperature and humidity (perhaps in the bunker?) that I purchased from ICI at an equipment auction in 1994 or 1995. I'd be happy to provide pictures. Just let me know.

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