The Jefferson Proving Ground (or JPG), located near Madison, Indiana, is a former munitions testing facility of Test and Evaluation Command of the United States Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command. The grounds of JPG serve as a wildlife refuge, as well as a gunnery range. Department of Defense organizations and private contractors are assigned to the area.
On October 8, 1940, the Chief of Ordnance acknowledged a need for the construction of an additional proving ground to carry out simultaneously and without interruption the many activities relative to proof work of the ordnance manufacturing program. In December 1940, the site acquisition committee decided on a 56,000-acre (230 km2) tract of land in Ripley, Jefferson, and Jennings counties in southern Indiana. The site was selected for its proximity to a powder manufacturing plant at Charlestown, Indiana, an ordinance plant at LaPorte County, Indiana, and an ammunition storage depot in Martin County, Indiana, as well as military installations at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Fort Hayes in Ohio, and Forts Thomas and Knox in Kentucky. Residents living within the area of planned site were given 30 to 120 days to vacate the land. Construction began immediately, and the first round was fired at U.S. Army JPG on May 10, 1941.[1][2] In April 1953, JPG reached a pinnacle of employment and activity, with 1,774 employees and a production of 175,000 rounds fired monthly.[3]
In 1989, JPG was identified for base closure under the base realignment and closure (BRAC) and closed on September 30, 1995. Since that time, the U.S. Army has maintained a small on-site oversight staff and an off-site environmental coordinator. JPG is currently administered by the BRAC Division within the U.S. Army's Installation Management Agency which is responsible for managing JPG's closure, cleanup, and property transfer.
Approximately 50,000 acres (200 km2) of the grounds north of the historic firing line was leased to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000 to be operated as Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. In 1998, a 1,033-acre (4.18 km2) parcel of land north of the firing line within the former range is operated as an air-to-surface gunnery/bombing range by the Indiana Air National Guard.[5][6] As of 2014, Jefferson Range is used for UAV training, including tests of air-to-ground strikes.[6]
The base contains a substantial amount of depleted uranium and the NRC has posed questions to the Army regarding environmental concerns as a result.[8]
References
^"Realignment and Closure Progress Report" (PDF). Department of the Army. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
^ Rachel Christing (Fulk) Brown (Fall 2017). "Sacrificing for the 'Arsenal of Democracy'". The Hoosier Genealogist: Connections. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. 57 (2): 34–39.
^"Personnel and Production". Madison Courier. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
jefferson, proving, ground, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jefferson Proving Ground news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Jefferson Proving Ground or JPG located near Madison Indiana is a former munitions testing facility of Test and Evaluation Command of the United States Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command The grounds of JPG serve as a wildlife refuge as well as a gunnery range Department of Defense organizations and private contractors are assigned to the area Sign at the entrance from US 421 Contents 1 History 2 Base closure and further use 3 Environmental concerns 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditOn October 8 1940 the Chief of Ordnance acknowledged a need for the construction of an additional proving ground to carry out simultaneously and without interruption the many activities relative to proof work of the ordnance manufacturing program In December 1940 the site acquisition committee decided on a 56 000 acre 230 km2 tract of land in Ripley Jefferson and Jennings counties in southern Indiana The site was selected for its proximity to a powder manufacturing plant at Charlestown Indiana an ordinance plant at LaPorte County Indiana and an ammunition storage depot in Martin County Indiana as well as military installations at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis Fort Hayes in Ohio and Forts Thomas and Knox in Kentucky Residents living within the area of planned site were given 30 to 120 days to vacate the land Construction began immediately and the first round was fired at U S Army JPG on May 10 1941 1 2 In April 1953 JPG reached a pinnacle of employment and activity with 1 774 employees and a production of 175 000 rounds fired monthly 3 Collin s Ford Bridge Marble Creek Bridge Oakdale School also known as Building 401 and Old Timbers are listed on the National Register of Historic Places 4 Base closure and further use EditIn 1989 JPG was identified for base closure under the base realignment and closure BRAC and closed on September 30 1995 Since that time the U S Army has maintained a small on site oversight staff and an off site environmental coordinator JPG is currently administered by the BRAC Division within the U S Army s Installation Management Agency which is responsible for managing JPG s closure cleanup and property transfer Approximately 50 000 acres 200 km2 of the grounds north of the historic firing line was leased to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000 to be operated as Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge In 1998 a 1 033 acre 4 18 km2 parcel of land north of the firing line within the former range is operated as an air to surface gunnery bombing range by the Indiana Air National Guard 5 6 As of 2014 Jefferson Range is used for UAV training including tests of air to ground strikes 6 Railroad tracks on the site are used for car storage by the Madison Railroad 7 Environmental concerns EditThe base contains a substantial amount of depleted uranium and the NRC has posed questions to the Army regarding environmental concerns as a result 8 References Edit Realignment and Closure Progress Report PDF Department of the Army Retrieved 1 April 2014 Rachel Christing Fulk Brown Fall 2017 Sacrificing for the Arsenal of Democracy The Hoosier Genealogist Connections Indianapolis Indiana Historical Society 57 2 34 39 Personnel and Production Madison Courier Retrieved 4 April 2014 National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 Facilities Indiana Guardsman Archived from the original on 8 January 2011 Retrieved 23 April 2011 a b Atterbury Muscatatuck 2014 PDF p 10 Car storage Madison Railroad Retrieved 28 April 2022 Sites Undergoing Decommissioning Jefferson Proving Ground External links EditJefferson Proving Ground Installation Support Management Agency Historic American Engineering Record HAER No IN 54 Jefferson Proving Ground Madison Jefferson County IN 45 data pages Jefferson Proving Ground Tactical Training School Coordinates 39 0 N 85 24 W 39 000 N 85 400 W 39 000 85 400 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jefferson Proving Ground amp oldid 1085119836, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
