Near Hastings in Adams County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Naval Ammunition Depot
Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 11, 2024
1. Naval Ammunition Depot Marker
The U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot, known locally as "the NAD," was the largest of the navy's World War II inland munitions depots, occupying almost 49,000 acres of Adams and Clay County farmland. Construction began in July 1942; loading, assembly, and storage of ordnance continued until final closing in June 1966. By V-J Day in 1945, the NAD employed 10,000 military and civilian workers. At one point during the war the NAD was producing nearly forty percent of the navy's ordnance, including sixteen-inch shells.
Costing $71 million, the NAD had 207 miles of railroad track, 274 miles of roads, and 2,200 buildings, including hundreds of igloo-shaped explosives storage magazines. The depot embittered farmers whose land was taken by the government, but it produced an economic boom as Hastings's population jumped from 15,200 in 1942 to 23,000 in 1943. A September 1944 explosion killed 9 workers, injured fifty-three, and left a 550-foot-long crater. The blast was felt 100 miles away and shattered windows for miles around.
Erected by Adams County Historical Society, Clay County Historical Society, and Nebraska State Historical
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the Nebraska State Historical Society series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1966.
Location. 40° 34.851′ N, 98° 19.606′ W. Marker is near Hastings, Nebraska, in Adams County. It is on South Technical Boulevard south of U.S. 6, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hastings NE 68901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Smoky Hills and in Eastern Nebraska. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, and on the prairies. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Art Center (approx. 2.6 miles away); Hastings College Campus Historic District (approx. 2.6 miles away); McCormick Hall (approx. 2.6 miles away);
Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 11, 2024
2. Naval Ammunition Depot Marker
Photographed by Mark Hilton, July 11, 2024
3. Nearby U.S. Naval Ammunition Depot plaque.
Photographed by Bill Kirchner, September 23, 2014
4. Naval Ammunition Depot Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on February 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 15, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 2,119 times since then and 96 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 11, 2024, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. 4. submitted on October 15, 2014, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
