The Powder Plant
This massive, 7354-acre plant produced propellant for 3 wars, and was maintained in readiness between each, playing an important role in national defense and forever changing the regional economy and culture.
A few miles away from two rail lines, Sauk Prairie met the Army’s transportation requirement. Water in abundance was present in the Wisconsin River and underground. The Prairie du Sac hydroelectric station was nearby and the prairie soil was as suited for building as it was for farming. Badger differed from other “powder plants” because it was not located in reasonable proximity to a large population center. Worker shortages plagued operations during World War II.
The first construction blitz began in March 1942. Workers from every building trade came to the site. At its peak in the summer of 1942 the work force peaked at 11,000. After 900 construction “units” were completed, the Badger chemical works began operation in January 1943. Propellant production began in May. A smaller construction blitz started in 1944 to build the rocket propellant plant and was completed just as the war in Europe was ending in May 1945.
In order to house workers recruited from out of the area, the Army constructed Badger Village across the highway from the plant. It was intended to provide temporary housing for several thousand workers but was never fully occupied during World War II. Worker recruitment drives were national except for the southern states with their large populations of African-Americans. In this era of overt racism, Black workers and their families would not be allowed to share Badger Village with Whites and were not offered jobs at the plant. Black Caribbean workers who were already employed in canning factories in the U.S. were recruited and housed in the Civilian Conservation Corps barracks at nearby Devils Lake.
To enable workers who lived within commuting range, an extensive regional bus system was established. It brought many of the roughly 6,000 plus people needed to produce propellant. Women workers were vital to operations and by the end of World War II they made up not quite one-half of those employed. The pay scale at Badger was higher than that of any other employer in the area. It was a giant stimulus package for blue collar workers especially and for the entire regional economy from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Badger was reactivated for the Korean War in 1951. Conditions were less urgent than during World War II but Badger manufactured almost as much propellant for Korea as it did for the big war. Near the end of the Korean operation, a new propellant plant was built. It produced granular “ball powder” for use in machine guns and rifles.