Post by Stretch on Jul 7, 2011 11:01:18 GMT -5
An interesting article about an accidental historical find at a construction site...
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www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/jul/06/hidden-history-beneath-parking-lot-ar-1149282/
Hidden history beneath parking lot
Credit: National Archives
Photograph of the ammunition pits and rifle range at Marine Barracks Quantico, dated Oct. 21, 1932. This is near where Lejeune Hall sites today.
By Lance Cpl. Shandra Dyess/Marine Corps Base Quantico Public Affairs
Published: July 06, 2011
QUANTICO, Va. - The workers were nearly half way through the excavation of a portion of the parking lot behind Lejeune Hall on Quantico Marine Corps base recently when they encountered an underground concrete wall.
The workers’ mission, before being halted by the underground structure, was to provide electrical wiring from a new substation currently under construction that would take power down Catlin Avenue and Russell Road, said Lt. J.g. Elliott Page, program manager for the resident officer in charge of construction on base.
The land on which Lejeune Hall now stands was once a range itself said Gary Matthews, the deputy operations director for the base. Matthews became familiar with Quantico’s former ranges when he worked in the Range Management Branch. The Guadalcanal Area, that is now part of the west side of the base, was purchased in the 1940s, but previously all ranges and training were conducted on what is now the main side.
For evidence of what workers found in the parking lot behind the building. Matthews turned to the Archive Search Report on ammo magazines, a survey to identify military munitions on closed, transferring, or transferred ranges by order of the Department of Defense. The final version of the report came out in 2001.
Paragraph 4.1.3.2 on rifle and pistol range storage describes six magazines for storage of black powder, dynamite, fuses, pyrotechnics and grenades. Map plates from 1932 show photos of the structures, which appear to be where the parking lot is now, though Matthews says the plates would have to be matched with current photos to confirm his suspicions.
The study, which is available online at the Training and Education Command’s site, also contains aerial photos of the magazines.
While this is the most likely explanation for the cement structure because of its location, its depth of eight feet makes it difficult to excavate, said Page. His office’s priority right now is keeping the project in motion.
“We’re working on a solution to reroute the electrical cables,” said Page. “Instead of the south side, we’re going to try around the north side of [the location] Catlin Ave parking lot.”
While the construction at the parking lot is halted, Page said they are pushing forward in other aspects of the project that include laying the electrical cables from the new substation back to its power source and building the actual substation unit in the woods behind Lejeune Hall.
“We will get back to construction in [the parking lot] in a couple of weeks. Right now we have to regroup and finalize our solution,” said Page.
The concrete structure under the pavement is just one reminder of the history of Quantico. Rifle and pistol ranges weren’t the only weapons once used on the main side – mortars have been discovered on the Russell Elementary School site.
“Many of our buildings on main side are located near a former range of some sort – whether it is the firing line, firing fan, or impact area,” said Maria Raney, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Branch environmental engineer and MRP project manager.
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www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/jul/06/hidden-history-beneath-parking-lot-ar-1149282/
Hidden history beneath parking lot
Credit: National Archives
Photograph of the ammunition pits and rifle range at Marine Barracks Quantico, dated Oct. 21, 1932. This is near where Lejeune Hall sites today.
By Lance Cpl. Shandra Dyess/Marine Corps Base Quantico Public Affairs
Published: July 06, 2011
QUANTICO, Va. - The workers were nearly half way through the excavation of a portion of the parking lot behind Lejeune Hall on Quantico Marine Corps base recently when they encountered an underground concrete wall.
The workers’ mission, before being halted by the underground structure, was to provide electrical wiring from a new substation currently under construction that would take power down Catlin Avenue and Russell Road, said Lt. J.g. Elliott Page, program manager for the resident officer in charge of construction on base.
The land on which Lejeune Hall now stands was once a range itself said Gary Matthews, the deputy operations director for the base. Matthews became familiar with Quantico’s former ranges when he worked in the Range Management Branch. The Guadalcanal Area, that is now part of the west side of the base, was purchased in the 1940s, but previously all ranges and training were conducted on what is now the main side.
For evidence of what workers found in the parking lot behind the building. Matthews turned to the Archive Search Report on ammo magazines, a survey to identify military munitions on closed, transferring, or transferred ranges by order of the Department of Defense. The final version of the report came out in 2001.
Paragraph 4.1.3.2 on rifle and pistol range storage describes six magazines for storage of black powder, dynamite, fuses, pyrotechnics and grenades. Map plates from 1932 show photos of the structures, which appear to be where the parking lot is now, though Matthews says the plates would have to be matched with current photos to confirm his suspicions.
The study, which is available online at the Training and Education Command’s site, also contains aerial photos of the magazines.
While this is the most likely explanation for the cement structure because of its location, its depth of eight feet makes it difficult to excavate, said Page. His office’s priority right now is keeping the project in motion.
“We’re working on a solution to reroute the electrical cables,” said Page. “Instead of the south side, we’re going to try around the north side of [the location] Catlin Ave parking lot.”
While the construction at the parking lot is halted, Page said they are pushing forward in other aspects of the project that include laying the electrical cables from the new substation back to its power source and building the actual substation unit in the woods behind Lejeune Hall.
“We will get back to construction in [the parking lot] in a couple of weeks. Right now we have to regroup and finalize our solution,” said Page.
The concrete structure under the pavement is just one reminder of the history of Quantico. Rifle and pistol ranges weren’t the only weapons once used on the main side – mortars have been discovered on the Russell Elementary School site.
“Many of our buildings on main side are located near a former range of some sort – whether it is the firing line, firing fan, or impact area,” said Maria Raney, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Branch environmental engineer and MRP project manager.