The Past and the Future

The former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant takes another turn in its long history.

ARTICLE BY Pamela Spradlin Mahajan

PHOTOS COURTESY De Soto Kansas Historical Society

The annexation of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant last November could mean exciting things for De Soto. Designated as the fastest-growing city in the Kansas City metro by the Kansas City Star in 2019, De Soto’s future can be most clearly understood by remembering its past.

The Sunflower Ammunitions Plant, circa 1945.

It was 1942 when a new development prompted massive population growth in De Soto. The federal government constructed the Sunflower Ordnance Works on 9,000-plus acres 3 miles southwest of the city. In 1963, the facility was renamed the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.

The plant was one of six commissioned by the Army during World War II to produce smokeless powder. Production commenced in March 1943; manufacturing of rocket propellants was added in 1943 and 1944.

In an effort to help ease the housing situation in the area, 70 acres of farmland north of the plant were purchased. By August 1943, 45 buildings had been constructed in what was known as the Sunflower Housing project. Folks were initially hesitant to relocate to the village. After all, with no stores, no post office, and dusty dirt roads, there was little to attract residents. Yet, soon, things began to change.

The Sunflower Drug Store, the Community Building, and the barber shop were among the first businesses to serve the area shortly after the village opened. In February 1944, the Sunflower Post Office opened with Emma Drake as its first postmistress. The same month, Lou Falley of Topeka opened Falley’s Sunflower Market, a grocery store. Then, in 1945, the much-needed Sunflower Child Care Center began to care for the children of plant employees. Though the need for childcare continued after the war, it was no longer supported under the Lanam Act Funds. Thanks to the village council, the USO, and later the Sunflower Civic Association, the childcare facility was able to continue beyond the war.

By August 1945, about 12,000 people worked at the plant. At the village’s peak, there were approximately 6,000 residents living in 1,432 units. Each unit contained a refrigerator, a gas range, and a woodstove for heating. Residents paid between $29 to $36.50 a month depending on the number of bedrooms. Though Sunflower was the fastest-growing town in Kansas during the war, the population turnover was high as people moved from war plant to war plant.

Working at the plant entailed a certain amount of risk but allowed those to help in the war effort if they couldn’t be actively serving in the Armed Forces. A 1945 Reader’s Digest article by Paul W. Kearney, titled “Hell’s a-poppin’ in Kansas,” outlined some interesting facts about who was helping in the plant during the war. It noted that about 60% of the plant’s operators were “girls” and through the risks faced in the plant, new safety precautions emerged for workplaces, like chutes for a quick exit, lead floors to minimize sparks and fires, and buildings constructed to direct blasts upwards. Despite the risk, the hours worked without an accident reached 1,125,00 hours in 1945.

A nitroglycerin buggy enroute to a weigh station.

After World War II ended, Sunflower was close to shutting down. Instead, the government authorized the space for housing of servicemen from Topeka, Olathe, and Leavenworth. Later, 1,000 male students from KU moved into 26 buildings, and the area was renamed Jayhawkville. Then, when the space was designated married student housing, more than 1,000 families filled the space, and the area became known as Nursery Junction. Children’s and maternity shops opened in the commercial area, and a nursery occupied the recreational facilities.

After a few years, as the student boom after WWII dwindled, the plant was reactivated for its original purpose during the Korean War in 1951, and the village population again increased. In June 1960, the plant shifted to standby status before being reactivated in August 1965 for the Vietnam War. In 1972, the ammunition plant was placed on standby status, but the facility built on the grounds in 1967 remained open, producing nitroguanadine, a type of propellant. It was the only nitroguanadine plant in the U.S., and production continued until 1992.

In 1998, the Army designated the plant as federal surplus property. Since then, there have been various plans for the space. In 2005, Sunflower Redevelopment LLC, a joint venture between International Risk Group LLC and Kessinger/ Hunter & Co. LC won a $109,000,000 contract for the environmental remediation and explosives decontamination of 9,065 acres.

There are countless ways to utilize the sprawling space that is now part of De Soto. Regardless of the direction taken for development of the former plant’s land, the echoes of its past will remain. The diligent workers, brave service people, students, and families who came before are forever part of the rich history of De Soto.

Another view of the plant in 1945.

DE SOTO TIMELINE

1857 Founded in the spring by B.W. Woodward, James F. Ligate, James Findley, and G.W. Hutchinson and named after the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto.

1857 First frame building opened as a general store.

1858 First hotel built.

1860 First post office established; James Smith was the first postmaster.

1858 The Methodist Church organized with Elder Buch as a minister. Meetings were held in private houses and in the hotel until 1866, when a stone church was erected at a cost of $2500.

1858 The Presbyterian Church also organized. Rev. William H. Smith became pastor in 1860 and remained with the church for approximately 30 years. In 1879, a stone building was constructed costing $2,000.

1860s In the late part of the decade, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad began to build its line through the area.

1897 De Soto was incorporated as a city on October 1.

1898 On October 21, the De Soto Eagle Eye newspaper was started.

1942 The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant was built during World War II. Workers came to De Soto from all over the Midwest, causing a dramatic increase in the population. The federal government responded to the housing shortage caused by the population influx by building the Sunflower Housing project, now known as Clearview City, across from the plant.

1951 The Great Flood of 1951 destroyed the eastern edges and northwest part of town.

1993 The Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant closed.

1998 The Army designated the plant as federal surplus property.

2000 The De Soto Chamber of Commerce was formed. Today, 130 businesses are part of the organization.

2021 In November, De Soto annexed about two-thirds of the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.

-information provided by De Soto Historical Society