A Centennial Celebration

From September 3 - October 27, 2018, the South Charleston Interpretive Center was thrilled to premiere the first ever exhibit

about the Naval Ordnance Plant, featuring:

  • Hundreds of photographs from collections and archives across the United States.
  • Artifacts and memorabilia from nearly every era of the Plant's history.
  • A functional M106 mortar carrier of the type made at the NOP during the 1960s.
  • A twin-mount U.S. Navy 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, for which over 19,000 barrels were made at the NOP during World War II.
  • Information on surviving World War II ships that still carry guns made right here in South Charleston.
  • A unique collection of rare Navy recruitment posters, courtesy of the U.S. Navy Poster Museum in Point Pleasant, WV.

<----- Check out an album of our September 3 Opening Ceremony from Linda Weekley!


Opening Ceremony Highlights included:

  • Remarks from South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens.
  • A speech from 94-year old Rosie the Riveter Buddie Curnutte, who worked at a Curtiss-Wright airplane factory during World War II, served in the Coast Guard, and married a Marine veteran!
  • Special visit from Vietnam veteran Danny Miller, who served in the 3/5 Armored Cavalry near the DMZ in a South Charleston M113 ACAV.
IMG_6109.mov
2 hours of restoration in 20 seconds. Amazing photo conservationist Tsun Tsun Tao cleans up a photo of South Charleston High football players at then-new Oakes Field in the 1940s. Why is this in the exhibit? Because the NOP is in the background, of course!
The conceptual rendering above shows the layout of the exhibit and the promotional poster. This unique pop-up design was constructed from four 40-ft shipping containers with insulation and environmental controls.