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EXPLORE HISTORICAL SITES

WORLD WAR TWO AMMUNITION MAGAZINES

The Bottomland Trail leads to a truly unique piece of history in the middle of a peaceful wetland forest. Ten World War Two Ammunition Magazines are dispersed among the trees and provide an interesting insight into the role New Orleans played in the war.

In 1939, the American Government occupied approximately 5000 of the 10,000-acre peninsula for use of ammunition storage during World War II.

The area was purchased by the Navy and commissioned as the Marine Base Naval Ammunition Depot New Orleans Louisiana, where local civilians were given jobs handling the ammunition.

Ammunition was transported to the property by both ship and rail before transitioning to rail only. Rail lines ran through a portion of the property along the river containing designated areas for small arm and machine gun storage.

The ammunition arrived from the Naval Ammunition Depot from the Louisiana Ordnance Plant in Minden, Louisiana. It was sent by rail to be loaded on ships on the Mississippi River located at two docking areas along the peninsula formed by Orleans and Plaquemines parish and then traveled to the South Pacific during WWII. The property was used similarly during the Korean War.

The area now occupied by Woodlands Preserve was designated for black powder used in battle ships and torpedo warhead storage. These types of ammunition were solely transported by truck for fear that a spark from trains traveling on tracks would cause an explosion.

There was also a fear of theft or foreign interference on the property. Marine Corps soldiers regularly patrolled the property by horseback and later Jeep vehicles.

In 1963, the property was excessed1 by the military, at which time the property was divided between the state of Louisiana, Plaquemines Parish Government, and Tulane University.

The remaining land was retained by the military and is now used as the Coast Guard Communication Station with a portion leased to the City of New Orleans for operation of Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species.

  1. This term refers to land that is separated from a property because it is no longer required to support the use of the property. ↩︎