A new and exciting video on the history of the Charlestown Powder Plant, in Charlestown, Indiana, is now available. A combined effort of the Charlestown Public Library and Natural Concepts, Inc., a local museum consulting firm, has produced a one hour documentary on the fifty-two year life of the smokeless powder manufacturing and bag loading facility, Charlestown Powder Plant: 1940-1992".

For more than five decades the powder plant provided smokeless powder and propellant charge bags for the military. Throughout WW II, Korea, and Vietnam, the Indiana Ordnance Works and Hoosier Ordnance Plant also provided jobs. More than 50,000 people were employed here at one time, according to the video’s producer, Troy McCormick. McCormick said, "With 2005 being the 60th anniversary of the end of WW II, this was a great year for working on this particular project."

Drawing from a wealth of military archived photos of the plant, technical manuals on powder manufacture, 1940-41 panoramic construction photos, rare video footage of the Load, Assemble, and Pack lines, and first person interviews with past employees of ICI, Olin Mathieson, GoodYear, and DuPont, the video tracks the changes and advancements of what was the largest, smokeless powder manufacturing plant in the world.

Past employees of the plant, and military historians, will also enjoy the three bonus features included with the video. These include original footage of the Hoosier Ordnance Plant’s Load Line 2 in operation, a military promotional video on the loading of stick propellant charges, and a look at the steps involved in creating the large, 16" Navy charge.

The video is available for sale and comes in either DVD or VHS tape. The cost is $20.00, with a portion of sales to help fund additional research projects sponsored by the Charlestown Public Library.

Secure, encrypted credit card orders can be placed above. A fax/mail order form can also be printed and mailed in with payment.

The video is also available at the following locations:

Charlestown
•Charlestown Public Library

Clarksville
•Falls of the Ohio State Park Interpretive Center

Jeffersonville
•Howard Steamboat Museum
•Clark-Floyd County Tourism Information Center
•Schimpff's Confectionery

New Albany
•Destinations Booksellers



For more information contact Troy McCormick, (812) 284-4207 or troy@naturalconcepts.net

Types of powder charges made at the Charlestown Powder Plant
(click image to enlarge)

If you're interested in Clark County Indiana history, we also have a video entitled "Rose Island: on a Summer Day," that we're sure you would enjoy.

Rose Island on a Summer Day

This 60-minute video reflects upon an earlier time when just getting somewhere was half the fun. Join amateur historian Tom Chapman as he visits with twenty-five individuals that visited Rose Island, worked at Rose Island, and even lived at Rose Island. An amusement park that was touted as "a play-ground and pleasure resort unexcelled anywhere within the central states."

This collection of first person interviews is rich in historical photos, maps, and images of the earlier Fern Grove Picnic Area, and Rose Island. As seen through the eyes of children, you'll hear about the fun and wonders found at Rose Island over seventy years ago.

http://www.roseislandvideo.com