![]() Workers came from every state in the Union and represented 41 different nationalities. The turnover rate, however, was extremely high since the average employee only remained on the job approximately 40 days. Government records indicated that over 110,000 people were on the payroll during the eleven months it took to build the plant. Practically overnight thousands of workers and train loads of materials and supplies began pouring into the muddy pasture field along the river. Ground was broken December 23, 1917, at the site of the present Nitro city park for construction of the first of twenty-seven, 200-bed barracks. Another name seriously considered at the time was “Redwop” which was obtained from the reverse spelling of the word powder. It was derived from the chemical term Nitro-Cellulose, which identified the type of gunpowder that was to be produced. The name Nitro was selected by the Ordnance Department. However, as work progressed at Nitro and Nashville, it was decided to increase the production capacities of both plants to 700,000 pounds per day, thereby eliminating the need for the Louisville installation. The preferred building sites selected for the other two plants were near Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky. ![]() Three months later when Nitro came off the War Department’s drawing boards, a wartime construction project was launched that challenged the entire nation. The number-one location picked to build the first plant was a wide section of bottomland along the great Kanawha River, 14 miles below Charleston, West Virginia. Such criteria as security from coastal attacks, climatic conditions, rail and water transportation, available raw materials, and the lay of the land, determined the site selections. The War Department immediately sent engineers into a 10-state area to find the best-suited locations for the proposed plants. The Appropriations Act provided for the construction of three huge explosive plants, each capable of producing 500,000 pounds of gunpowder per day. When it was determined the nation could not produce enough powder to supply its troops in combat, US Congress went into an emergency session and passed the “Deficiency Appropriations Act” on October 6, 1917. Shortly after the United States entered the war, it became apparent that America faced a critical shortage in gunpowder production. Its very name stands as a reminder of its sudden and explosive beginning. It was built by the United States Government to manufacture gun powder for the war effort. Our story began a century ago.Īt an elevation of 590 feet, the city of Nitro, located along the Kanawha River, just off I-64 about 12 miles west of Charleston, was born as a World War I boom town. Nitro, West Virginia History The city of Nitro is rich in West Virginia history.
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