Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant

The Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, formerly known as the Louisiana Ordnance Plant or as The Shell Plant, is an inactive 14974acre government-owned, contractor-operated facility located off U.S. Highway 80 in Webster Parish between Minden and Bossier City, Louisiana. Part of LAAP is now known as Camp Minden, a training center for the Louisiana Army National Guard. In recent years, LAAP and Camp Minden have become nearly interchangeable terms, with most references to Camp Minden.BackgroundAt the beginning of 1939, the government imposed eminent domain to purchase the land for the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP). Handled by the attorney Harvey Locke Carey of Shreveport, then with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the acquisition was completed in 1941 even before the United States entered World War II.LAAP was completed in eleven months under the direction of the contractor, Silas Mason. At the time, the entire area was rural and thinly settled. Eight production lines were opened in May 1942. The number of employees during World War II peaked at 10,754 in December 1944, the month of the decisive Battle of the Bulge. Production of ammunition ceased in the summer of 1945 with V-J Day, and the plant was deactivated three months later. LAAP was restored to service during the Korean and Vietnam wars and operated through the 1980s until the middle 1990s.