Evening star., 1925-07-05

About % miles from the National
Capital. on a promontory overlooking
the Potomac River. is the tiny village
of Indian Head. This little hamlet is
so obscure that apparently nothing
has ever been written about 1t. A
search of the various encyclopedias
and the files of the Library of Con-
gress revealed no mention of it. And
yet It is of vital Importance to the
people of the United States. In fact.
1t is so important that this is doubtless
part of the reason for it's being care
fully guarded against publicity. For
there is located the only Govern
ment-owned powder plant.
Until a few years ago Indian Head
was also the site of the naval prov
ing grounds. They We're the reason
for it's existence About 1890 1t was
decided to remove the proving work
from Annapolis, and an area of la nd In
Charles County was selected. A tiny
community was dug out of this will
derness and thus Indian Head came
into being. Its inhabitants consisted
of the workmen, the few naval officers
on duty there. and a marine guard.
To this day many of these original
workmen and their families still live
there.
Until the time of the World War all
of the guns and shells of the Navy
were tested at Indian Head. In 1918
work on new proving grounds was
begun at Dahlgren, Va, and some OF
the proving work was transferred
there. This in measure relieved the
congestion of work which was caused
by the increased demands of a nation
at war. In 1921 all of this work was
transferred to the Virginia grounds.
Motorists and visitors still find indi-
cations of the proving work that was
formerly carried on at Indian Head.
On the outskirts of the village the
trees bear signs warning against the
dropping of lighted matches or cigar
cites, because of unexploded shells In
the vicinity. Along the narrow beach
may be found pieces of shell and Oh
steel armor plate which is twisted and
shell-torn.
Powder Plant Opens.
With the adoption of smokeless
powder In 1899, the Navy established
it's own powder factory at Indian
Head. The output of this plant be.
fore the World War was Increased
from. time to time until 1t was pro
ducing about 90, 900 pounds day. The
increa sed demands or the war, now
ever, necessitated the enlarging OF the
plant and brought many more people
to this place. The laboratory became
practically a training school for the
technical force employed for inspec-
ton duty in connection with the pur-
chase of explosives.
With this additional population and
activity the town boomed-that is, In
a modest way. More houses were
needed and these were built by the
Emergency Housing Corporation. A
school was built, community center
stores and banks came into existence.
There is small, but comfortable
hotel. But even with this growth the
town still remained practically a
closed corporation.
With the end of the war and the
removal of the proving work the
number of inhabitants dwindled. How
ever, the town is unique in its self
sufficiency. 1t has little outside con-
tact. While there are freight trains,
there Is none for passengers. The
only way to reach it is by boat
which runs three times a week, or by
motor. The boat carries the mail.
The State of Maryland built an ex-
cellent dirt road which connects with
the main highway. Practically all the
way this road is overhung with trees
and in the Spring these are thick with
honeysuckle. Washingtonians fire.
quently take this trip with picnic
lunches which may be eaten in the
woods beyond the village. There are
many places overlooking the river
where one may entertain himself
watching the boats plying up and
down. It gives one the sense Of be-