Amatol Ghost Town: A Former WW1 Munitions Plant

Built in 1918 by the US military, in the final stages of the First World War, this munitions plant’s main mission was to supply a new explosive called Amatol. Hidden in the midst of Pine Barrens and on a 6,000 acre land, the town itself in New Jersey was named after its lethal product.

The operation of this munitions plant had ceased after the outcome of the war was clear. It was short lived. And soon all the men involved in it were sent back home, triumphant, vacating all their previous assignments. Isolated, Amatol was abandoned by the armed forces. After it was shut down, its homes were vacated, structures were torn down since they were not built to last. The factory too was destroyed.

There are still remnants left of the village, mostly skeletonized concrete. Some are stacked on the spot where there once were houses. There was a racetrack here in 1926, but that’s gone too, named the Atlantic City Speedway. It was the largest one built on the east coast during that time- fifty feet wide with a 1.5 mile oval- leaving minimal traces.

Know Before You Go

This is located in southeast of Hammonton, Moss Mill Road. Most of the area where the racetrack was is now under the management of Hammonton Creek Wildlife Management Area which is open to the public. The remaining one-quarter is private property as can be gleaned from its no trespassing signs. Follow a cut path from the former racetrack to the opposite side, turn right to arrive at the ruins.

The Wisdom Segment

I Sometime before his inauguration in 1929, Herbert Hoover bought around 164 acres worth of land in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to use as a presidential retreat, naming it Rapidan Camp. After failing to win his re-election in 1932, he donated it to the government, hoping his successors will use them well. However, Rapidan instead became part of Shenandoah National Park in the mid-1930s.
II The Little White House in Key West, Florida, was famous for holding presidential meetings while the U.S. president spends some winters there. It began in 1946, where Harry S. Truman was recommended by his doctor to spend his vacation in a warm place. It eventually became a public museum in 1987 on New Years Day.
III In 1950, prior to his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower bought a farm spanning 189 acres in Pennsylvania, right next to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Starting from 1953, as soon as he was inaugurated as the 34th U.S. president, he has used the farm as his go-to retreat until his death in 1969. Two years before his death, Eisenhower donated the place to the National Park Service.
IV Prior to becoming a National Historic Park in 1980, Lyndon Johnson, the 36th U.S. President, acquired this place from a relative in 1951, back when it was rundown. Ever since he became president, the ranch prospered and even raised high-quality cattle. Johnson back then would always drive his guests around in a Lincoln convertible.
V Richard Nixon had an affinity for waterfront estates, as shown in the purchase he made in Key Biscayne, Florida. was a ranch-style home that was bought in the same year he started his presidency. Dubbed the Winter White House, it included a floating helipad and a private beach, both were which were paid for by the government.
VI Before Camp David became the go-to U.S. presidential retreat, it was originally called Hi-Catoctin, a camp for federal government agents and their families. However, it was renamed to Shangri-La in 1942 by Franklin Roosevelt and converted into a presidential retreat. It was only given its current name when Eisenhower became president, naming it in honor of both his father and grandson.

Amatol Ghost Town: A Former WW1 Munitions Plant

Know Before You Go

The Wisdom Segment

In Case You Missed It