Scioto Ordnance Plant The Scioto Ordnance Plant ( SOP ) was an ammunitions and bomb making facility built in Marion County , Ohio by the United States Army in 1942 . The plant operated until 1945 when production wound down . Also built adjacent was the Marion Engineering Depot which was authorized in the summer of 1942 . Land for the plant was taken in Grand Prairie , Scott , Clairdon and Marion Townships in an area covering . Families who owned property within the zone identified for the facility were notified March 2 , 1942 that they had to vacate their land by May 1 , 1942 . Not only did this mean that the displaced had to find a place to live in the midst of a housing and fuel shortage , but it also meant moving and / or selling livestock and agricultural equipment . Federal contractors began removing field fencing in April 1942 . While land owners received a " fair " valuation for their property , relocation expenses were not paid . Several property owners claimed that they never received any compensation from the government . After May 1 , 1942 , most of the farmsteads located inside the perimeter were leveled ; underground bunkers and production buildings were built in clusters throughout the SOP site . By June 1942 SOP was employing 2 , 900 employees , many of who moved north from Southern Ohio and Kentucky for the high paying wages offered . Once in operation , the plant ( under the operation of U . S . Rubber ) produced fuses and boosters , 20 mm bullet s , 50 caliber bullets , 50 caliber artillery shells , 65 mm shells and 75 mm shells . Incendiary bomb s and napalm barrel bombs , similar to those used on Dresden by Allied forces were also produced at the site . Munitions containers served duel duty by carrying SOP products overseas , and then doubling as coffins for those killed in action . German Prisoners of War were housed on the site ( in an area referred to as “ Camp Marion ” ) beginning in December 1944 . Post War Problems . Following the end of the war , land taken for SOP was resold to civilians . Some local farmers who had lost their land returned to the area . A housing development - Grandview - was built over the magazine area of the former plant . In 1949 , Uranium handling was planned for the site , with the contract going to Monsanto Company . However production at the facility never began in earnest . In 2000 it was revealed that students attending River Valley High School ( Caledonia , Ohio ) , built on land formerly occupied by the Marion Engineering Depot , had higher than usual instances leukemia . Tests performed on the site by the Ohio EPA and the United States Army Corps of Engineers proved inconclusive . A private consultant hired by a parents organization found evidence of toxic chemical waste on the River Valley site dating back to the 1940s . As a result these findings , and because of Ohio EPA problems with investigation , River Valley pursued building a new school campus and eventually abandoned the Engineering Depot Site . Today , most of the buildings have been demolished , or are being used by the private farmers who now own the land . A few buildings are visible today , and can be seen from New Road ( which runs north - south parallel to Pole Lane Rd ) . During the 1990 ' s , at the height of the investigation into the health issues which many residents attributed to the ordinance plant , there were rows and rows of 50 gallon drums sealed and seemingly ready for disposal located in a field a few hundred yards west of New Road . Most assumed this was waste that the Army Corps of Engineers had collected and planned to dispose of . The chapel for the base still exists , although it is unused . It is located at the corner of Pole Lane Rd and Likens Rd . At one point it was inhabited as a residence , but has been unused and abandoned for many years . In the neighborhood of Grandview , which is north from the chapel and west off of Pole Lane Rd , there are still remnants of the plant . In some of the undeveloped areas of the neighborhood in the woods , you can still find large flat overgrown slabs of concrete platforms , large concrete sidewalks , all of which now are on private property . This can also be seen in the fields west of Pole Lane Rd . There are concrete roads which were most likely used for vehicles . The Marion International Airport is also located on Pole Lane Rd . For years many pilots had reported that during the winter as they flew over the area they could see a large square patch of land where the snow would melt in an exact square , while the rest of the land surrounded it remained covered in snow . It was later discovered that this area of land was where the Army had dug and buried chemicals used in ammunition production ( phosphorus etc ) , and as the chemicals mixed with the oxygen in the ground it would melt the snow that settled on it . Directly across the street from the church at Pole Land and Likens is a crumbled concrete platform . It is roughly 12 ' square , and all that is left is about 2 ' high of concrete and several pieces of steel rusted re - bar . This structure was originally a guard tower used for observation when German prisoners were held at the camp . During the 1940 ' s , many of the German prisoners were used as labor in the city of Marion . Local residents who were alive at the time can recall the prisoners being used for painting , maintenance , collecting trash , building improvements , etc . Although they were POW ' s , they were treated well and fairly by the Army . Most of the physical history of this area of Marion is gone , except for the church , a few buildings , and the Marion Depot located on Rt 309 , which still houses an Army station and a train loading - unloading station ( the Army reserve HQ previously located at the corner of Pole Lane Rd and Rt 309 has subsequently closed also ) . The memories of the history of this area still live strong considering this has been a part of history in Marion Ohio for nearly 70 years . Sources . Mosher , Charles D . , Mosher , Delpha Ruth . " The Scioto Ordnance Plant and the marion Engineering Depot of Marion , Ohio , A Profile After Forty years . " Published by Authors with Assistance from the Marion County Historical Society . 1987 .