 During its nearly 70-year history, the plant produced dynamite for the U.S. military as well as for the construction of various civilian projects including the Grand Coulee Dam, the Alcan Highway, and the Panama Canal.A company town was set up about a mile east of the explosives manufacturing facility.By 1909, the village had two houses for the plant managers and 58 houses for the workers, which increased to over 100 houses by the end of 1917.