New River Ordnance Plant

Just south of here stood the New River Ordnance Plant, or Dublin Bagging Plant, a World War II facility established primarily for the bagging of propellant powder used for firing artillery shells. Construction of the plant, designed and operated by the Hercules Powder Company, began in Feb. 1941 on nearly 4,000 acres of former farmland. Thousands of employees, many of them women, manufactured bags, loaded them with powder, waterproofed artillery propellants, and made cannon flash reducers. The plant shipped nearly 144,000 tons of powder before being declared surplus in 1945. Portions of the property were sold, while about 2,800 acres later became part of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.