Editing Childersburg, Alabama (section)

==History==
Successive [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] had lived in the area for thousands of years. In the 16th century, people identified as part of the Kymulga-phase culture (of the larger [[Mississippian culture]]) lived at Talisi, the former site of Childersburg.<ref>Waselkov, Gregory A. and Marvin T. Smith. "Upper Creek Archaeology" in McEwan, Bonnie G., ed. ''Indians of the Greater Southeast: Historical Archaeology and Ethnohistory'' (Gainesville: [[University of Florida Press]], 2000) p. 244</ref> In the fall of 1540, the Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto]]'s expedition rested here for about one month during its exploration of the Southeast.<ref name=smith_desoto>{{cite book | last= Gentleman of Elvas | title= Narratives of the Career of Hernando De Soto in the Conquest of Florida as told by a Knight of Elvas | year  = 1557 | publisher = Kallman Publishing Co. (1968), Translated by Buckingham Smith | chapter= Chapter XVII, Of How the Governor went from Coca to Tastaluca | page = 81 | id = ASIN B000J4W27Q}}</ref> Childersburg is the "oldest occupied settlement in America” <ref>[http://www.childersburg.org/ City of Childersburg website], accessed July 18, 2011</ref> The [[Abihka]] people (part of those who became known as the [[Muscogee people|Muskogee]] or Creek) dominated the area by the 18th century.<ref>Waselkov. "Upper Creek Archaeology" p. 247</ref>

The [[Alabama Army Ammunition Plant]], a [[munitions]] plant, was established in Childersburg in 1941 and operated throughout [[World War II]] until August 1945.<ref name=ArmyPlan/> Operated by [[DuPont]], the plant produced explosives, such as [[nitrocellulose]], [[trinitrotoluene]] (TNT), and [[dinitrotoluene]] (DNT).<ref name=ArmyPlan>United States Army Environmental Center Base Closure Division, [https://web.archive.org/web/20121009020132/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA467425 Site Management Plan; Alabama Army Ammunition Plant, Talladega County, Alabama], May 10, 1995. Pages 5–6.</ref> The plant also secretly produced [[heavy water]] to support the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121009020132/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA467425 Site Management Plan; Alabama Army Ammunition Plant, Talladega County, Alabama], May 10, 1995. Page 22.</ref> In 1940 the town had about five hundred people. Over fourteen thousand workers came to build and later operate the new facility.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Flynt|first1=Wayne|title=Poor But Proud|date=February 5, 2016|publisher=University of Alabama Press|location=6851}}</ref>