Clearfield (Utah) Naval Supply Depot

Originally posted September 14, 2012  

One of the things I like about my job is getting to visit historic sites. They may not be 'historic' in the touristy way, but somehow contributed to some aspect of American history. A few weeks ago, it was the General Motors B-25 plant in Kansas. Today, it is the Naval Supply Depot in Clearfield, Utah.

After nearly 11 months of construction, the 871 acre depot opened in April 1943. It's proximity to established highways and rail lines in addition to it's Air Force neighbors over at Hill in Ogden, made Clearfield a prime site. Initial construction included 58 warehouses totaling 8.3 million square feet (191 square acres) of inside storage, plus 6.7 million square feet of covered storage and 1.3 million square feet on outside, paved or concrete storage. At it's peak, the depot employed 7600 civilian and military personnel. In April of 1945, 500 German Prisoners of War we interned there and were put to work loading and unloading supplies. In April, 1946, the prisoners were removed and the POW camp deactivated and the area where they were held was sold off. Most the the warehouses still stand and remain in use to day by civilian companies. Which explains why I am here.