The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Army Supply Base at Charleston Terminal at South Atlantic Port Meets Commercial Need for Cotton Exporting Facilities -- Many Warehouses and Sheds Available Ti: Charleston, -S. C., army base was designed and _ con- structed to provide a seaboard outlet for the shipment to France of animals and of cotton products orig- inating in the south and southwest. The terminal is located on the Cooper river between Filbin§ and Goose creeks, in what is known as North Charleston. This places the plar.t 8 miles by water, and 11 miles by rail, from Charleston proper. Al- though commercial utilization of the terminal might, under present condi- tions, be facilitated were the plant situated closer to Charleston, -- this location was the only feasible solu- tion for the original wartime ship- ping requirements for which the project was designed. The site on which the base has 'been constructed was selected in 1917 by a committee composed of the city engineer of Charleston, a_ civilian terminal expert and an army officer, acting under the council of national defense. The property finally ~ac- quired by the war department for the entire development, including a large ordnance base and an animal embarkation depot, occupied over a third as much area as the city OF Charleston itself. The military traffic which it was proposed to handle also originated entirely outside of Charles- ton. These and similar factors made the Cooper river site the only prac- ticable location for this base. Construction of this property was completed in July, 1919, thirteen months having been consumed in the Work. The general contractor was the Mason. & Hanger Contracting Co., working under the supervision Of the construction division of the army. The entire cost of the project totalled $10,605,573. The Principal structures included in this army supply base are six ware- houses and two open sheds, termi- hating in two headhouses and a bulk- 'ead wharf, all comprising a_ total area of 790 acres. Abundant Storage Area e Ctnetive feature of this layout cea large Proportion of storage Peas with relation to ship berthing 1.800.000 Protected storage area of faciliti Square feet, and open storage rockin of 1,740,000 square feet are h e within the terminal, while e berthing space along the bulk- head wharf is but 2840 lineal feet. This arrangement: particularly suits Charleston base for the exportation of cotton, which material temporarily stored in open sheds and wharf houses or held indefinitely for export shipment in closed warehouses. The installation of an improved cot- ton compress, such as has_ proved most successful in New Orleans, is being considered to permit the more efficient commercial utilization of this terminal for exporting cotton. The Cooper river approaches to the bulkhead wharf of the Charleston STEAMER LUCKENBACH DISCHARGING CARGO AT CHARLESTON BASE base have a controlling depth of 30 feet at mean low water, the dock immediate opposite the wharf hav- ing been dredged to this depth. This wharf has a total length of 2160 lineal feet. Of this length, 290 feet has a width of 55 feet, while the re- maining 1870 lineal feet opposite the two headhouses, is 40 feet wide. Of the latter distance, 150 feet of water frontage has a_ concrete facing. The under structure of this wharf is composed of untreated sheet pilings, driven to about 50 feet back of the face of the bulkhead. This 50-foot apron is carried on creosoted piles; those piles inside the sheeting, how- ever, are untreated. The floor load capacity of the wharf is 1400 pounds per square foot. Railroad trackage extends to headhouses and shipside. 453 may be and for of the wharf, Facing the bulkhead wharf are two headhouses each 150 feet wide, the larger being 1360 feet and the smaller 400 feet long. The larger headhouse connects with the six closed -ware- houses extending 1200 feet inland, while the smaller serves the two open sheds of the same dimensions and layout as the warehouse. These headhouses are single story buildings of hollow tile and brick construction, with gravel roofing. The walls on the dock side are equipped with rolling drop doors, permitting all sections to be thrown entirely open to facilitate the movement of cargo in Ob Out, The wood pile foundation gives the floors of the headhouses a load capac- ity of 500 pounds per square inch. These buildings have a 20-foot clear- ance throughout with 16-inch tile division walls connecting with store-' houses in the rear. A_ continuous the entire length steel walkway for hoisting tackle ex- tends along the entire dock side of both headhouses. Warehouse and Shed Capacity The six warehouses extending back from the larger headhouse are each 160 x 1200 feet, single story structures of tile and timber semipermanent con- struction. The net storage area of each is 172,800 square feet, each build- ing being divided off into twelve 100- foot sections. The open sheds connecting with the smaller headhouse, while of the same dimensions as the closed ware- houses, are of but temporary con- struction, wooden roofs set on tim- ber supports without flooring, and are designed to provide partial shelter for heavy or unperishable merchan- dise. All buildings are equipped with automatic sprinkler fire protection ap- paratus, and are unheated except for the upper section of one warehouse, No. 6, which is fitted out for office purposes. The railroad trackage within the terminal totals 22.1 miles. The plant is connected with the mainland by the Charleston Terminal railroad, which in turn feeds from the trunk lines of the Southern, Atlantic Coast: line and Seaboard Air line railways. The rail traffic facilities within the hace include a primary receiving yard.