112 Dahlgren 



accomplishment to be able to travel from Dahlgren to Fredericksburg* in less 

 than an hour's time because the roads weren't paved. 



Did you go through Route 21 8 to Fredericksburg? 



No. That was next to impossible then. Highway 218 was the old mail route, 

 but it was not used for travel from here to Fredericksburg. As a matter of fact, 

 people were afraid to use it because of the terrible traveling conditions. 

 Dahlgren was isolated. Make no mistake about that. When it was established, it 

 was an isolated community, which I think hurt in the long run because that tag 

 of isolation hung on, and this Station always used it as a means of acquiring 

 this, that, and the other under the context that we were an isolated community 

 and an isolated activity. The Station grew internally, but the community sur- 

 rounding it did not for the very simple reason we were the Naval Proving 

 Ground. The Naval Proving Ground, you see, was a blue-collar station. With 

 the emphasis on blue-collar work, private investors took the position that since 

 it was government, it was here today and gone tomorrow, and if it were gone 

 tomorrow, there would be nothing left to support any investment. In other 

 words, if Dahlgren ceased to exist, what would remain to continue the business 

 that might be established off the Station? The answer was obvious, so this 

 Station had to get into the business of developing a community which included 

 not only the housing but all of the supporting facilities — medical, schools, 

 recreation, you name it. Everything had to be provided here internally by the 

 government. That held the development of this area back, but it was the type of 

 thing the government had to do, not because it wanted to, but if Dahlgren was 

 going to continue to exist, it had to have these facilities. The incentive for 

 private capital to come in was just out of the question. 



What was the initial reaction from local citizens regarding the buildup of an ordnance 

 facility in the area? 



Quite negative, particularly during World War II. You see. King George 

 County was a rural county and still is, but it was quite predominately rural back 

 in 1918. There were no means of livelihood in the county other than farming. 

 Also bear in mind that in the early 1920's, the automobile industry was just 

 beginning to emerge, and so far as ownership of cars was concerned then, not 

 too many people owned them because they simply didn't have the wherewith- 

 al to buy them. Jobs weren't available because there was nothing that produced 

 the jobs. When Dahlgren came, it provided a steady payroll. As a blue-collar 

 station, the payroll went to the local people because they were the ones who 

 were coming in here as employees. They didn't have to rely on outsiders. The 



*A distance of about 28 miles. 



