The Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (IAAP), located just southeast of Charlestown, Indiana, was spurred by the passage of the first National Defense Appropriations Act.(10) Four days later, the Munitions Program was passed, in which the U.S. Ordinance Department sponsored private manufacturing corporations to design and produce ammunitions factories, producing smokeless gunpowder and other ordinances.

Districts

INAAP was divided up into several distinct districts: Administration area, propellant and explosives area, black powder manufacturing plant, powder burning area, burning area, planning area, shipping houses, powder preparation area, igloo area, and propellant charge lines.(9)(10)

The propellant and explosives area, at 1,500 acres, was a single-based propellant manufacturing facility that operated intermittently from 1941 to 1970.(9) The major process areas included two nitric acid manufacturing areas, two nitrocellulose manufacturing and purification areas, and two propellant manufacturing and finishing areas. Major support areas included an aniline manufacturing area, two coal burning power plants, approximately 450 above-ground storage tanks, and an extensive railroad system.

The administration area included many critical support structures. One such building, Structure 719, was a hospital and a laboratory. Constructed in 1941, this was once a 12,563 sq. ft. hospital; it later became part of an employment office. (9) By 1985, it was no longer a hospital or employment office, and became a laboratory from 1987 to 1990.

The igloo area occupies approximately 1,700 acres and features 176 earth-covered igloos that have been used to store propellants since 1941. (9) One noteworthy mention is that Igloo 5185 was destroyed in an explosion in 1966.

Workforce

Most of the labor force at INAAP were men, although a considerable number of women were employed. At IOW1, approximately one-fourth of the employees were women, while at HOP, women composed two-thirds of the workforce.(10) Approximately 10% of INAAP workers were also black, although segregation was in effect and blacks were not given office jobs.

German prisoners-of-war were used as unskilled labor, and were housed in the IOW2 area neighboring Charlestown Landing Row. The first German prisoners-of-war arrived in May 1945, but were repatriated three months later as the war ended.(10)

Safety

Due to the presence of black powder and other highly volatile materials, safety was one of the utmost concerns at INAAP. Buildings on the industrial campus were spread far from one another to diminish the chance of a mass explosion, and transfer chutes were utilized that reduced airborne powder movement.(10) In addition, conductive shoes were issued to reduce static electricity, and employees were searched daily for matches and other hazardous materials. In addition, emergency slides were installed in some buildings to provide quick escape.

Railroad viaduct

In the 1870s, the Baltimore and Ohio completed a single-track line from Louisville, Kentucky north to North Vernon, Indiana (7). One of the largest changes for the track came in 1940 with the construction of IAAP. As a result, Indiana State Route 62 was widened from two to four lanes between 1940 and 1942 in anticipation of the plant which required the construction of a viaduct over the new route. 1942 was also the same year that passenger service was added to IAAP (7).

The line served not only passengers from Louisville and North Vernon, but for freight that was destined to the plant.

In April 2001, CSX Transportation, which then owned the track, filed a request with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to abandon two-tenths-of-a-mile stretch of line from the viaduct southwest along Indiana State Route 62 (7). The line north of the viaduct was abandoned in 1990s as production waned at IAAP.

In late-2001, the viaduct was demolished.

Charlestown State Park

A study conducted in the spring of 1981 determined if there was any hazardous waste on land to be declared surplus on the northern fringe of IAAP.(19) The land was a testing ground for small anti-tank rockets in the 1940s, and portions were burning ground for materials which were contaminated by gunpowder or other hazardous materials. The rocket test site, however, was a static firing test stand and not an actual firing range. The Government Services Administration noted that 1,700 acres bordering Fourteen-Mile Creek was surplus, but the automated Black Powder plant reduced that acreage to 1,400.

In 1995, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources opened Charlestown State Park with 859 acres immediately north of the city and IAAP.(5) One year later, the park expanded to 2,000 acres.(3) In 1998, the Army transferred an additional 2,700 acres from IAAP to the state park, which was followed with the rebuilding of the interior access roads and the construction of hiking trails, playgrounds and picnic facilities.(5)

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