The first version of this cache (GCH2Q4) left the area
unexpectedly. This is the new and larger replacement, long over
due. I had originally wanted to place this second version close to
the nearby Hamilton County Police pricinct. However they said that
they would prefer to not draw too many visitors down their lane,
and suggested this spot, so it is police approved :)
Now to the history lesson...
This cache is located on land that was once part of the
Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant. This area is known by locals as
TNT land because the area was developed by the US Army between 1941
and 1942 to manufacture explosives for World War II. VAAP is 12
miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee and includes 6,681 acres
and 405 buildings. VAAP began operations in July 1942 as a TNT
production facility and operated intermittently until 1977. By
1945, the facility had produced more than 800,000,000 pounds of
TNT.
The plant was shut down after the war but reopened during the
Korean War. It was again placed into standby status in 1957. In
1965, VAAP was directed to activate four TNT lines, and during the
peak of operations (1967-1969) it produced 30 million pounds of TNT
per month. Production facilities were modernized in the seventies.
The plant was once the area's biggest employer, but it was shut
down after the Vietnam War.
In 1999 Chattanooga and Hamilton county received permission from
the federal government to buy 940 acres of land on the former
Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant for $7.5 million. The 940-acre site
has seven buildings, including a 40,000-square-foot former missile
assembly plant and an 8,000-square-foot warehouse. Since the first
purchase Chattanooga and Hamilton County have purchased the
remaining property and it is being developed into a large
industrial park, and a recreational park is being planned.
