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Newport Army Ammunition Plant photographs

 Collection — Folder: SP085
Identifier: SP085

Scope and Contents

This collection includes color photographs from the U.S. Army of the Newport Army Ammunition Plant in Vermillion County, Indiana from February and March 1977 regarding the facility and its various buildings.

Dates

  • 1977

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Historical Note

The Newport Army Ammunition Plant near Newport, Indiana was established during World War II, constructed in 1942, and operated by contractor, E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Co. under the name Wabash River Ordnance Works, to produce explosive RDX. During 1943–1944, the U.S. Army added a heavy water plant as part of the Manhattan Project's P-9 Project, which was later used for the country's nuclear weapons program during the 1950s. In 1959, the army built a VX nerve agent facility named Newport Army Chemical Plant and in 1964, it was combined with Wabash River Ordnance Works and retitled Newport Army Ammunition Plant. The facility was operated by Uniroyal, Inc., a military contractor during 1977. Eventually, the plant became a bulk chemical storage and destruction facility, renamed the Newport Chemical Depot, and in 2008, its VX stockpile was neutralized.

Sources:

Wikipedia. "Newport Chemical Depot." Wikipedia.org. Accessed October 21, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport_Chemical_Depot.

Colombo, Haleigh. "How an Indiana town ridded itself of deadly VX nerve gas." IndyStar, March 23, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2021. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2014/03/23/how-an-indiana-town-ridded-itself-of-deadly-vx-nerve-gas-newport-chemical-depot/6800421.

United States National Park Service, Historic American Engineering Record. "Newport Army Ammunition Plant, Newport, Vermillion County, IN." [1968?]. Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress. Accessed October 21, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/item/in0286.

Extent

0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Materials

Materials relating to this collection may be found in the following collections at cultural institutions in Indianapolis, IN:

P0110: Newport Army Ammunition Plant color photographs, 1977, Indiana Historical Society

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2021/10/21 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid created 2021/10/21 by Brittany Kropf.

Creator

Title
Newport Army Ammunition Plant photographs
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671