State’s New Arsenal
Kriin.su ic*k is latest North Carolina County
to share in the South's military hoom.
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This is Southport, one of North Carolina's most tranquil towns.
Нои
long will it remain tranquil?
Another huge military installation is
coming to North Carolina, and to a
section where the increased popula¬
tion and payroll will mean substantial
changes in the economic life of the
community.
Brunswick County, in the extreme
Southeastern tip of the State, has been
tentatively selected the site of a large
ammunition loading depot, in an area
known as Sunny Point. The estimated
cost is $22.000,000, but unofficial
advices from Brunswick indicate
eventual expansion of the original
construction.
20.000 Acres
The facility involves about 20,000
acres, a tract fronting se\'cn miles on
the Cape Fear River and reaching in¬
land for about five miles. This acre¬
age reaches almost to Orton Gardens
on the north, absorbs Orton Pond,
and reaches south to Walden Creek,
about three miles north of Southport.
When completed, the facility would
employ around 18,000 civilians, giving
Brunswick the largest payroll in its
history.
Most of these employees would be
engaged in handling aerial bombs, ar-
THE STATE.
ОСОСМ1СЯ
29. 1951
By PAUL PLEASANTS
tillery shells and small arms ammuni¬
tion. It is understood the vast acreage
would be occupied by dispersed am¬
munition warehouses and dumps.
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new railroad would be built to con¬
nect with the ACL and Seaboard Rail¬
ways, and there would be three piers,
each with a capacity of three cargo
vessels. These would be reached by a
35-foot channel from the sea and up
the river. They would have a frontage
of 1,800 feet, be 87 feet wide with
three rail lines atop each. Loading
capacity would be about 36 ships a
month, or 360,000 tons of explosives,
according to the Army Lngineers' of¬
fice at Wilmington.
Railway System
Plans calls for an intricate system
of railroads within the reservation and
a "holding yard" with barricaded cells.
These cells would be flanked by 19-
foot-high earthen fills as protection
against damage from explosions.
The site was selected because it of¬
fered the most advantages of any of
those inspected along the cast coast.
It can easily Ik adapted so ns to pro¬
vide adequate water and rail trans¬
portation. and a minimum number of
residents (about 200) will be required
to move to other locations. The en¬
gineers' office also pointed out that
the land is not subject to inundation,
hurricanes do not strike the area, and
there is a sufficient labor supply in
the vicinity. Water for industrial pur¬
poses (mainly fire fighting) can be
drawn from the river, while domestic
water will be supplied by wells. Waste
disposal will be by septic tanks — there
will be no pollution of the river.
New Channel?
The Southport Pilot, which has been
riding the Sunny Point story hard in
recent weeks, predicts that the facili¬
ty may also result in the cutting
of a new passage from the ocean to
the Cape Fear. At present, deep water
vessels must come into the river by
way of the 35-foot channel which lies
between Bald Head Island and South-
port. This means that ships coming
down the coast from the North must go
around the famous Frying Pan Shoals,
( Continued on page 23)
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