The Old Hickory Powder Plant was built and operated in 1918 by the E.I. duPont deNemours Co. for the United States Government at a cost of $87,000,000 to make smokeless gunpowder for the Allied Armies in World War I. By the time of the Armistice on Nov. 11, 1918, the plant was 75% complete and was producing 750,000 lbs of powder every 24 hours.