Joliet Army Ammunition Plant

The outside of one of the bunkers. AFish (Atlas Obscura User)

Inside a bunker. AFish (Atlas Obscura User)

one of the bunkers jkbuddy123 (Atlas Obscura User)

The igloos near Pt. Pleasant, WV were dome shaped. They were still in use by Austin Powder in the 1970’s! rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)

A warning on the inside of the igloo door in West Virginia. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)

The entrance to a TNT igloo at the West Virginia Ordnance Works near Pt. Pleasant, WV. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant AFish (Atlas Obscura User)

At least one bunker is handicap accessible tho getting there may prove difficult. Hightopp Explorations (Atlas Obscura User)

Hundreds of miles southeast of Joliet are the ruins of the West Virginia Ordnance Works. TNT was manufactured and stored on site in camouflaged concrete igloos. They are different from the ones in Joliet, but date from World War II as well. rbt45769 (Atlas Obscura User)

Some of the bunkers have been converted into nice picnic spots Hightopp Explorations (Atlas Obscura User)

The bunkers closest to the bison range are somewhat maintained and easily accessible. Hightopp Explorations (Atlas Obscura User)

About 19 miles southwest of Chicago near the city of Joliet resides a massive plot of restored prairie land. This is the former site of the Joliet Ammunition Plant, which produced TNT and artillery shells during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

By the late 1970s, operations at the plant ceased. In 1993, the land was declared to be excess and a redevelopment project was planned. A portion of this new development included 19,000 acres of land that was handed over to the U.S. Forest Service. That land became part of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, the first national park of its kind, followed by Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas.

Today, the land is public property for all to enjoy. Visitors can still find traces of the park’s military history. The most notable of these is a field of concrete bunkers that were known as the “igloos” by factory workers. They were once used to store massive quantities of explosives and ordinance.

Although most of the bunkers are shuttered with heavy steel doors, others remain open for tourists. Inside, visitors will also find scattered graffiti that provide clues into the lives and jobs of the people who once worked inside.