The Entire Neighborhood Of River Ridge In Indiana Was Mysteriously Abandoned
Back in the 1940s, the US Army decided to establish an enormous ammunition manufacturing plant near Charlestown, Indiana. It would manufacture a few specific things: rocket propellant, propellant charge bags, and, most famously, smokeless gunpowder. Word spread of the coming plant and, very quickly, people interested in jobs began flocking to the area.
Between 1940 and 1942, approximately 13,000 people moved to Charlestown and the area surrounding the soon-to-be-finished ammunition plant.
Construction finished and the plant opened in 1942 - just in time for World War II. The newly-minted town predictably went nuts, and jobs exploded.
River Ridge became a neighborhood on the premises of the Ammunition Plant for high-ranking officials and their families; shops and amenities began appearing nearby.
During this time, the River Ridge Post Office saw a 300% increase in mail volume; soon enough, the neighborhood also had things like a baseball diamond, basketball courts, horseshoe pits, a pool, and more. It was alive, and vibrantly so.
At its peak, the Army Ammunition complex boasted more than 800 buildings; 17 of those were homes.
World War II, and conflicts after it, provided the plant with seemingly endless work. Over the most productive years, the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant saw literally tens of thousands of employees.
The plant managed to stay afloat fairly well in the decades after World War II; it faithfully produced gunpowder for several international conflicts the US was involved in up until the end of the Vietnam War.
After Vietnam ended, production at the plant decreased dramatically. Layoffs began around that time, and thus, it was clearly the beginning of the end. It wasn't about to die out without a fight, though, and over the years, many ideas for repurposing the plant were dreamt up, though ultimately nothing ever came to fruition.
By 1987, there were fewer than 1,000 employees left. The plant and the surrounding town were in their death throes.
Okay, so maybe the abandonment of this once-lively neighborhood wasn't exactly "mysterious," but it's always very weird to watch flourishing homes and entire towns turn totally desolate over the course of just a few years.
In 1997, 6,000 acres of plant grounds were formally transferred to Clark County Reuse Authority. The remaining land, approximately 4,000 acres, was donated to what is now the Charlestown State Park.
Intriguingly, Charlestown State Park is also the site of an abandoned theme park, so what remains of River Ridge isn’t alone. The two long-neglected places aren’t terribly far from one another, and they make for a fascinating afternoon of exploration. It’s incredibly important to note that structures remaining on these sites are not stable, and should not be entered for any reason.
For more information on the abandoned theme park on the same grounds as what used to be River Ridge, click here!
Have you ever visited this state park and the abandoned memories it holds? Tell us about it in the comments!
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
