Penniman: Virginia's Own Ghost City

In 1916, a town was built in eastern Virginia centered around a DuPont munitions plant. Located on the York River between Williamsburg and Yorktown, Virginia, Penniman had 15,000 inhabitants at its peak. During WWI, women were recruited to fill positions that supported the war effort, and some found their way to Penniman. The predominantly female workforce, many known as Canary Girls, loaded TNT into 2.8 million shells. The people of Penniman were surrounded by muddy streets, military style living quarters, espionage, the Spanish flu, and the constant fear of an explosion when working with the TNT. Even so, Penniman became home to many, with its general store, post office, bank, hospital, drug store, salon, barbershop, restaurants, and police and fire stations. Then, in 1921, the town and its residents disappeared. This is the story of life at Penniman.