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30The Munitions FactoryThe dry heat was oppressive, as buzzing grasshoppers bounded around us. We were heading down yet another dusty, gravel road searching for abandoned ammunition buildings%u2014so far, with little success. Scanning one side, then the other, all we could see were patchy woods and weedy fields. Suddenly, a mirage at a desolate intersection%u2014an older, black gentleman seated comfortably in a folding chair. Stopping the car, John got out and asked if he needed assistance. No, his sons were training hunting dogs nearby, and he was just waiting for them to pick him up. Well then, perhaps, he could help us? Yes, he knew exactly where to find what we were looking for. He lifted his right arm, and pointed north.Within minutes, we passed through an open gate into an area confined by rusty chainlink fencing. The scene was bereft%u2014lonely, and much neglected. Widely scattered among the Queen Ann%u2019s lace and poison ivy, were several concrete/masonry/steel structures. These had once been a busy, high-security part of the U.S. Defense Department%u2019s Kingsbury Ordinance Plant. %u201cThe buildings were purposely constructed far apart,%u201d John explained, %u201cso if one blew up, the others wouldn%u2019t. The two-story ones had slides (top right, next page) to whisk workers away from danger quickly.%u201dIt was back in 1940 when construction first began here. To the military, this non-descript tract in LaPorte County was perfect. Covering over 13,000 acres, it was in the center of the country%u2014making it a difficult target for overseas enemies. In addition, the land was affordable, there was plenty of water, and three railroads had tracks nearby.Shells, mortar rounds, and other forms of ammunition, were soon being manufactured at Kingsbury. By 1942, the site employed nearly 21,000 workers. Then, just as quickly, when World War II ended, the facility closed. It reopened briefly during the Korean Conflict, but was retired permanently in 1959. Eventually, the U.S. sold about 7,000 acres to the State of Indiana%u2014which created the Kingsbury Fish and Wildlife Area. The rest went into private hands, with the largest portion becoming an industrial park.As John and I roamed around the desolate, aging complex, it was evident that these remaining isolated, fortress-like factories had simply been walked away from a half-century earlier. In one rambling room, loose insulation hung from the ceiling, flaccidly swaying in the stifling air. Solidly built doors had broken panes of glass, and paint peeled from the walls. Inside one former workroom, several inches of indeterminate gray powder blanketed the concrete floor. Even when new, these must have been forbidding, ugly places to work. Yet, Hoosiers patriotically toiled in them day after day, gingerly assembling tons of live ammunition. Deep in thought, we quietly left this once necessary, but now virtually forgotten, scene of America%u2019s defense history. When we drove past where our guide had been sitting, he was gone.Kingsbury Ordinance Plant, c.1940%u2014LaPorte Co. (763.07)