In 1816, the federal government bought land here for a military arsenal that at first served as a storage and repair depot, then developed and tested arms and ammunition. During the Civil War, it operated day and night, turning out muskets and ammunition vital to the Union cause. Production increased again during the First and Second World Wars, when workers made millions of bullets a day for U.S. forces. By the time it closed in 1977, it had served the country for more than 160 years. When the government established the arsenal, the surrounding area was mostly open land, but other industries soon settled here, attracted by Frankford Creek and its water power for mills. As businesses crowded the creek's banks and flooding complaints increased, engineers began projects in 1901 to straighten the winding creek. The arsenal also produced munitions from timing fuses to artillery shells, used its workshops and laboratories for weapons research in peacetime, and began as a few small buildings on twenty acres of land.
