History of the Kingbury Ordinance Plant to be Presented Saturday

  
 
The “History of the Kingsbury Ordinance Plant” will be presented at the LaPorte County Historical Society Museum on Saturday, March 22 at 1 p.m. CT.

Fern Eddy Schultz, LaPorte County Historian, will be presenting the history of the plant in the meeting room of the museum.

It was announced on September 28, 1940, that LaPorte had been chosen as one of 73 sites in the country for the construction of an ordinance plant. The Kingsbury Ordinance Plant was operational during World War II and the Korean War where hundreds of people came to LaPorte County to load shells, assemble fuses, boosters, detonators and primers and packing complete rounds of ammunition.

Because so many people were employed the the KOP, Kingsford Heights was formed in order accommodate all of the workers. Schools were built for the education of additional students that came into the area.

By the time the war came to an end in August of 1945, over $800 million dollars had been spent on the KOP and another $2 million was spent closing it down. The plant remained on standby and went back into production in 1951 when the United States entered the Korean War. The government sold the plant in 1959.

During Saturday’s presentation, the effects on the county will be discussed along with other aspects of the operation.

The program is free to attend.