I though this may be of some interest, some of the older photos, some of the local people and their stories, and the some of the notable work they did and still do to manufacture weapons for our soldiers, then and now.
I used to deliver lumber and other materials there, as the other driver had a dishonorable discharge in the late 60's, not allowed on any federal property, so I got most if not all the deliveries for 4 years or so. This was also adjacent to a huge D&H repair and maintenance yard, where I would also unload rail cars of plywood and dimensional lumber, there were also 2 large steel mills adjacent, only thing left and still going is this Arsenal. Looking back, we still had a fair amount of manufacturing into the 80's and early 90's, things sure have changed.
One item this place is known for is building the 16" guns. It used to be relatively easy to get in, go to the security booth, fill out a card, they might look the truck over, then that's it. Well I'd skip a delivery once in awhile, as they would set up a D.O.T. check point just inside the gate, once in there is no backing out, nice little trap, but one you could see and drive past and wait a day til they went somewhere else. I used to tour or look around often, its an incredible facility, they had this conveyor with 2" thick plywood plates, that items were placed on and automatically sent to a warehouse, with a vast shelf and racking system, it would retrieve the item when needed, 1 person would operate it, was in the receiving area. Often times you waited for instructions, lumber went to their internal lumberyard or you were directed to another building, area. While waiting you could walk around, I can recall being in places I should not have LOL, today, I cannot even imagine what would happen if you did that. They used #1 D4S (dressed 4 sides) lumber for crating the expensive barrels they manufactured, we used to joke, nothing but the best, but given the cost of one those, I can see why.
Quite a bit of history throughout the years, thought y'all might like to read about it !
News Article
Army Article
I used to deliver lumber and other materials there, as the other driver had a dishonorable discharge in the late 60's, not allowed on any federal property, so I got most if not all the deliveries for 4 years or so. This was also adjacent to a huge D&H repair and maintenance yard, where I would also unload rail cars of plywood and dimensional lumber, there were also 2 large steel mills adjacent, only thing left and still going is this Arsenal. Looking back, we still had a fair amount of manufacturing into the 80's and early 90's, things sure have changed.
One item this place is known for is building the 16" guns. It used to be relatively easy to get in, go to the security booth, fill out a card, they might look the truck over, then that's it. Well I'd skip a delivery once in awhile, as they would set up a D.O.T. check point just inside the gate, once in there is no backing out, nice little trap, but one you could see and drive past and wait a day til they went somewhere else. I used to tour or look around often, its an incredible facility, they had this conveyor with 2" thick plywood plates, that items were placed on and automatically sent to a warehouse, with a vast shelf and racking system, it would retrieve the item when needed, 1 person would operate it, was in the receiving area. Often times you waited for instructions, lumber went to their internal lumberyard or you were directed to another building, area. While waiting you could walk around, I can recall being in places I should not have LOL, today, I cannot even imagine what would happen if you did that. They used #1 D4S (dressed 4 sides) lumber for crating the expensive barrels they manufactured, we used to joke, nothing but the best, but given the cost of one those, I can see why.
Quite a bit of history throughout the years, thought y'all might like to read about it !
News Article
Army Article