Residents want township to preserve remnants of abandoned village, factory

From the Press of Atlantic City, Monday, August 3, 2009-Rob Spahr, Staff Writer

SAVE OUR GHOST TOWN

MULLICA TOWNSHIP - In March 1918, the federal government began building a massive munitions plant and village in the heart of the township to support the U.S. Army's efforts in World War I.

It took only four months to transform the 6,000-acre site between the White Horse Pike and Elwood-Pleasant Mills Road from a wooded wilderness into an industrial hub.

But with the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, the plant's operations ceased, and the village - named Amatol after the type of TNT used in the munitions - was abandoned before many of the buildings could be completed.

Left for more than 90 years with only trees and wildlife as company, the buildings are crumbling into oblivion.

A few dilapidated structures covered with vegetation still stand. But otherwise, any proof of the existence of Amatol and the Atlantic Loading Company has been reduced to piles of rubble and dirt.

There are some, however, who are fighting to preserve the remnants of Amatol and get them the recognition they deserve.

"It is our claim to fame. And it is one of the most important things ever to happen here," said Louisa Mazetis, of Mullica Township. "Every other town preserves and celebrates their landmarks. We should be just as respectful of our own history."

A different Mullica

Amatol, which was located two miles away from the plant itself in case of an accidental explosion, was designed to accommodate 10,000 to 25,000 residents - roughly four times the township's current population.

The development featured a movie theater, bowling alley, hospital, train station, and public water and sewage plant - all amenities the township is currently without. There were also restaurants, a clothing factory, four YMCAs and 21 commercial stores.

"Before Amatol came here, Elwood was nothing. There were only a few people here," Mazetis said. "They helped put us on the map."

But it was the plant, which manufactured as many as 60,000 shells per day, that township residents feel had the greatest historical significance.

"The shells loaded here helped in our war efforts and helped win the war," Mazetis said. "That's a very special history to have."

The Atlantic Loading Company and the village of Amatol were abandoned practically overnight. But ordnance was still being taken out of the facility through the mid 1920s. More than two-thirds of what was left of Amatol was stolen by locals when it was abandoned, Mazetis said.

In 1926, Charles M. Schwab opened the Atlantic City Speedway, a 1½-mile wooden oval auto racetrack that accommodated 60,000 fans, in the Amatol area. The track remained open for seven years.

What's left?

A few reminders of Amatol can be seen from the White Horse Pike.

A blue home with a white-picket fence still houses a family. The Atlantic Loading Company's former administrative building sits vacant behind the State Police's South Regional Forensics Laboratory.

And nestled next to a small yellow home is one of the "ice houses" left over from Amatol. A longtime resident sold ice from the shack for decades. Now it and the house it sits next to are up for sale. Mayor Janet Forman is the real estate agent.

"The owner said the property had some historical significance, but to be honest, we hadn't looked any further into what that significance was," said Forman, who was told of that significance during a recent Township Committee meeting.

Mazetis wants to make sure the shack is preserved.

"Even if it doesn't stay on the property it is at now, we can find someplace to put it," she said. "It's part of our history and is proof that there is more to Mullica Township than just Sweetwater. We should protect it."

But township officials have some concerns.

"We are not even sure if the building is viable for historic preservation," Forman said. "We don't know what kind of repairs it needs, and there might not be a place for us to put it. There was so much controversy over just getting the small VFW memorial moved to the front of the municipal building. This needs more thought."

Committeeman Bernard Graebener echoed those concerns.

"We'd really have to get in there to see what kind of shape it is in to see if it can even be moved," Graebener said. "At this point, I'm not sure anyone really knows what condition it is in."

Forman suggested that the nearby historic village of Batsto might be a good place to relocate the shack if it can be moved because it already has historic buildings there.

Mazetis shot down that suggestion.

"Batsto is a Revolutionary War village, and Amatol was World War I," she said. "They are completely different periods in history."

Forman said she will do whatever she can to help preserve the Amatol sites, including the ice house on the property she has up for sale.

"I certainly get the significance of it," she said. "For Mullicans, this is something tangible, a part of their history that they can touch. We don't have very many examples of that."