“Radford is Boomingest Town in Virginia”

In 1940, the U.S. government contracted the Hercules Powder Company to build a massive manufacturing plant in the New River Valley, just outside Radford, Virginia. The facility, named the Radford Ordnance Works, was estimated to cost $25 million and cover 2,500 acres.¹ Its location was ideal for large-scale production because of the open land with convenient access to water, electricity, and rail lines. The plant was designed to eventually manufacture 300,000 pounds of smokeless powder (nitrocellulose) each day from cotton.²

Even before the United States formally entered World War II, the factory was tasked with producing explosive propellants for Britain and for American defense readiness. Operated by the U.S. War Department and run by Hercules Powder Company, Radford Ordnance Works became the first ordnance plant in the country to begin operations.

While the plant supported the foreign war effort, prepared the nation for possible conflict, and provided thousands of jobs, it also brought major changes to Radford and its neighboring communities. The most immediate challenges were a severe housing shortage and a dramatic increase in traffic, both caused by the sudden influx of workers.

Just as Norfolk experienced a wartime population surge from shipbuilding and federal employment, Radford and surrounding towns saw their numbers skyrocket as workers arrived to take jobs in explosives manufacturing. Before construction began, Radford’s population hovered around 7,000. The plant alone was expected to provide 5,000 jobs, instantly overwhelming the New River Valley’s housing supply, including in Pulaski, Newbern, and Blacksburg. By 1941, trains from Roanoke were reportedly bringing in around 1,000 workers daily, with some estimates putting the workforce at 22,000 during construction. Many workers and families were forced to live in tents, trailers, or six men to a room.³

To help with overcrowding, a government housing area known as “Radford Village” was planned on the plant’s property, primarily consisting of bunkhouses. But construction delays meant it didn’t open on time; workers were pulled from the housing project to accelerate progress on the plant itself.

The local economy and culture shifted in other ways. Surrounding communities experienced a shortage of farm labor as workers moved to the more lucrative manufacturing jobs. It was reported in a local newspaper that while about 900 new residents joined the area’s workforce, church attendance didn’t rise, but the nearest ABC store in Christiansburg reported a 71% increase in sales.⁴ The Radford Police Department, facing unprecedented crowds and traffic, took its first-ever courses in modern law-enforcement procedures. Shift changes at the plant created traffic jams so intense they were compared to Times Square, prompting the creation of new traffic laws.

On March 14, 1941 the plant was formally dedicated, with NBC in attendance and speeches delivered by U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace. More than 20,000 workers were invited to the event and to tour the new facilities.

As World War II progressed, production demands remained high, even as the workforce shrank due to military enlistment. By 1943, women made up 20% of the plant’s labor force. The local community praised their contributions, noting that the work they were doing would have been considered “quite out of the realm of feasibility three years ago.”⁵

The plant became one of the largest and most productive ordnance facilities in the country, continuing to expand even as the war ended. In 1945, an expansion project doubled the plant’s capacity, partly through the labor of 500 German prisoners of war.

Today, the Hercules Powder Company no longer owns or funds the facility, but the site remains active as the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Tucked into the mountains of Virginia, it continues to employ thousands throughout the New River Valley. You might say Radford is still an explosive place to live and work.