Peters Cartridge Company

Last updated
Peters Cartridge Company
Company type Subsidiary
Industry
Founded1887;137 years ago (1887) in Kings Mills, Ohio, United States
FounderGershom Moore Peters
Defunct1944 (1944)
FateDissolved
Parent King Powder Company
Peters Cartridge Company
Peters cartridge company.jpg
Peters Cartridge Company
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Location1415 Grandin Rd., Kings Mills, Ohio
Coordinates 39°21′1″N84°14′33″W / 39.35028°N 84.24250°W / 39.35028; -84.24250
Area14.2 acres (5.7 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectSchilling VanLeyer & Keough
Architectural stylePrairie Style
NRHP reference No. 85003115 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1985

The Peters Cartridge Company was a company located along the Little Miami River in Kings Mills, Ohio, which specialized in gunpowder and ammunition production. Founded in 1887 by Gershom Moore Peters, the company supplied military ammunition to various countries during both world wars. Following its demise in 1944, the site was repurposed by Columbia Records and later Seagram, before being abandoned in 1968 and falling into disrepair. Its historic buildings, built in 1916, were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. A brewery and apartment complex themed to the defunct company was constructed on site in 2020, in which many structures were restored and the company's history was placed on display for guests.

Contents

History

Peters Cartridge advertisement Breeder and sportsman (1915) (20226946000).jpg
Peters Cartridge advertisement

Joseph Warren King purchased the Austin & Carleton powder mill on the Little Miami River in 1855 and expanded it as the Miami Powder Company including the company town of Goes Station, Ohio. King sold the Miami Powder Company in 1877 to build the Great Western Powder Works with the company town of Kings Mills at a more favorable hydropower location downstream of Goes Station. [2] A wooden dam diverted water into a power canal through the gorge in a narrow valley between steep adjacent hills. Manufacturing facilities were dispersed along the 2-mile (3.2 km) power canal to minimize damage during infrequent explosions. King's son-in-law Gershom Moore Peters began working at the powder mill in 1881 and became president of the powder company when King died in 1885. Peters formed the Peters Cartridge Company at Kings Mills in 1887. Machinery was manufacturing four-thousand cartridges per hour by 1889. [3]

A collision of loaded railway cars being shunted at the powder works on 15 July 1890 triggered an explosion killing twelve people and starting fires destroying the railroad station, the freight house, two Peters Cartridge Company office buildings, the shell factory, the cartridge loading plant, a large warehouse and six employee residences. [4] Wood-frame structures were rebuilt on the opposite side of the river from the old powder works at 1415 Grandin Road, which included a large shot tower completed in 1895. The last wood-frame structures were machine shop building R-3 and shotgun shell loading building R-21 built in 1907. With the approach of World War I the company received large ammunition orders from the Russian Empire and from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Bullet manufacturing building R-6 was built of brick; and money from wartime contracts was used to replace most of the old wooden framed buildings with brick and reinforced concrete structures including the main R-1 building in 1916, the R-17 power house in 1917, metallic cartridge loading building R-2 in 1918, primer assembly building R-9, and the R-23 indoor shooting range and ballistics laboratory in 1919. A taller brick shot tower painted with a large "P" became a local landmark. [3]

Remington Arms purchased the Peters Cartridge Company in 1934. [5] Facilities were expanded during World War II to include the federally owned Kings Mills Ordnance Plant manufacturing military ammunition on an adjacent hill south of the Peters factory complex. Production of military ammunition ended in March 1944, and Remington sold the Kings Mills factory to Columbia Records. Columbia manufactured 78 rpm phonograph records at Kings Mills until 1949. When 45 rpm records became more popular the buildings were subsequently leased to Seagram distillers as warehouse space until 1968, when the site permanently closed. Many of the site's structures, including building R-1 and the brick shot tower, survived into the 21st century. [3] Following its abandonment, the area fell into disrepair and was eventually added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on October 10, 1985. [1] [6]

Redevelopment

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an investigation between 1994 and 1999 for possible contamination at the site. [7] In 2009, they formally declared the soil contaminated with copper, lead, mercury, boiler ash, and slag, caused by the manufacturing of cartridges. They issued an order calling on DuPont, an American company that owned Remington Arms when the manufacturing took place, to remove the hazardous waste. [6] The site was later designated a Superfund cleanup site when it was added to the EPA's National Priorities List in April 2012. [6] [7] The Superfund designation required that all hazardous waste be removed from the property prior to redevelopment. [8] Cleanup efforts cost $5 million and began in April 2015, taking nearly a month to complete. [6]

A group of local business partners signed a letter of intent in 2017 to renovate the property and open a brewery. Government officials, ranging from the local mayor to members of Congress, spent years acquiring federal approval to remove the Superfund designation. Contractors hired to renovate the property and build the brewery, along with an apartment complex, were eventually able to begin construction in January 2020. The brewery, Cartridge Brewing, opened to the public on October 31, 2020. Its logo and tap handles resemble bullet casings and shotgun shells, respectively, and several beer names carry a military theme. [8] Framed photos honoring the history of the Peters Cartridge Company are on display as well. [9]

Explosions

Explosions happened multiple times in the factory's lifetime. One writer stated, "Later they became of such frequency as to cause little comment, unless they were especially violent." [10]

In 1942, an explosion of unknown origins shattered windows 30 miles away. [11]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchasers. Two resulting companies each bear the Remington name—the firearms manufacturer is Remington Firearms owned by RemArms, LLC., and the ammunition business is Remington Ammunition owned by Vista Outdoor Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Miami River</span> River in the United States of America

The Little Miami River is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows 111 miles (179 km) through five counties in southwestern Ohio in the United States. The Little Miami joins the Ohio River east of Cincinnati. It forms parts of the borders between Hamilton and Clermont counties and between Hamilton and Warren counties. The Little Miami River is one of 156 American rivers designated by the U.S. Congress or the Secretary of the Interior as a National Wild and Scenic River and lends its name to the adjacent Little Miami Scenic Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Mills, Ohio</span> Census-designated place in Ohio, United States

Kings Mills is a census-designated place in the northeastern corner of Deerfield Township of Warren County, Ohio, United States, on the western shore of the Little Miami River. The population was 1,336 at the 2020 census.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headstamp</span> Markings on the bottom of a cartridge case

A headstamp is the markings on the bottom of a cartridge case designed for a firearm. It usually tells who manufactured the case. If it is a civilian case it often also tells the caliber: if it is military, the year of manufacture is often added.

The .204 Ruger is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Hornady and Ruger. At the time of its introduction in 2004, the .204 Ruger was the second-highest velocity commercially produced ammunition and the only centerfire cartridge produced commercially for bullets of .204 inch/5 mm caliber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olin Corporation</span> American chemical manufacturing company

Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Accidents at Olin chemical plants have exposed employees and nearby residents to health hazards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priddy's Hard</span> Former military installation in Gosport, Hampshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joliet Army Ammunition Plant</span> United States Army arsenal in Illinois

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consisted of the Elwood Ordnance Plant (EOP) and the Kankakee Ordnance Works (KNK). In 1945, the two were deactivated and combined forming the Joliet Arsenal. The plant was reactivated for the Korean War and renamed Joliet Army Ammunition Plant during the Vietnam War. Production of TNT ended in 1976, and the major plant operations closed shortly after in the late 1970s. The facility briefly revived an automated load-assemble-pack (LAP) artillery shell operation that was managed by the Honeywell Corporation during the Reagan administration in the 1980s before it was finally closed.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powder mill</span> Mill where ingredients of gunpowder are ground and mixed

A powder mill was a mill where gunpowder is made from sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Metallic Cartridge Company</span>

The Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMC) was an early manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for small arms. The company was founded in 1867 during the most rapid evolution of cartridge design to date. Following merger with Remington Arms in 1912, the company manufacturing complex in Bridgeport, Connecticut became a major arms supplier during World War I. The factory was Remington headquarters until 1984 and the source of sporting and police ammunition headstamped REM-UMC until 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laflin & Rand Powder Company</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Rosalie. "Miami Powder Company". History of Ohio Pioneers. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Sullebarger Associates, PAST Architects. "Ahimaaz King House and Carriage House Historic Structure Report" (PDF). Deerfield Township, Ohio. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  4. Burba, Howard (5 March 1933). "Remember When the Powder Mills Exploded?". Dayton Daily News.
  5. "The fascinating history of an old Warren County factory that churned out bullets and shotgun shells". mydaytondailynews. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Alter, Maxim (October 12, 2017). "Former Peters Cartridge factory a hot spot for ghost hunters and police". WCPO. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Superfund Site: Peters Cartridge Factory Kings Mills, OH". EPA. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  8. 1 2 Koesters, Matt (June 3, 2021). "They turned an old ammo factory into a brewery, and it shows". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  9. Mains, Brian (October 5, 2020). "Cartridge Brewing Co. breathes new life into Peters Cartridge Factory". WCPO. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  10. "Remember When the Powder Mills Exploded". www.daytonhistorybooks.com. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. Alter, Maxim (June 21, 2018). "Peters Cartridge Company: Former ammo factory in Kings Mills a hot spot for ghost hunters and police". WCPO . Retrieved October 24, 2018.