The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Sunday, January 22, 2023

Sangamon Ordnance Plant-- Part 3

In October 1942, $20,000 cash intended for payroll was stolen  en route from a courier enroute to the Farmers State Bank of Illiopolis from the post office.

In August 1943, an artillery shell exploded at the Oak Ordnance Plant, killing Maurice Pryor, age 22, of Springfield, Illinois. Ten others were injured.

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Following the end of the war,  the facility closed and most of it dismantled, though some parts still remain.  A large portion of the site has been returned to farmland.  By June 1949, 90% of the farmland had returned to production.

The land had cost the government $3,186,922 and it was sold for $2,126,490, mostly to former owners (so they did well).

The Federal Works Agency received 359 buildings which were dismantled and removed, many for use as schools and colleges.

--GreGen


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