Pocatello’s roots trace back to a boxcar depot along a narrow-gauge rail line connecting Salt Lake City to Montana’s mining operations in the late 1800s. Incorporated in 1889, Pocatello quickly became a major railroad hub. Thanks to its inland location and strong rail infrastructure, the city played a critical role during World War II.
In 1942, the U.S. Army established an airbase seven miles northwest of Pocatello. Spanning over 3,500 acres, the base served as a key training site for aircrews flying B-17 and B-24 bombers, as well as P-39 and P-47 fighters. It housed the 96th and 382nd Bomber Groups, along with the 453rd and 464th—units that trained thousands of pilots, navigators, and bombardiers. Functioning as a self-contained city, the base included housing, schools, a post office, hospital, chapel, dining facilities, and workshops. After its decommissioning in 1945, the site was transferred to the City of Pocatello in 1949 and became the Pocatello Municipal Airport (now Pocatello Regional Airport).
That same year, the United Service Organization (USO) opened a downtown recreation center and USO Hut to support servicemen stationed in Pocatello.
Also in 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned the Naval Ordnance Plant (N.O.P.) in Pocatello—a 200-acre facility responsible for refurbishing and manufacturing naval gun barrels and ordnance components. One of only two such plants nationwide, and the only one west of the Mississippi, it was chosen for its strategic inland location and transportation network. Once weapons were completed, they were shipped roughly 50 miles to the Naval Proving Ground in the Arco Desert for testing—today, the site of the Idaho National Laboratory.
After the war, the N.O.P. was decommissioned and eventually sold in the 1950s. The area transitioned into an industrial park, home to various federal facilities and a public space now known as N.O.P. Park.
In June 2021, Industrial Realty Group, LLC (IRG) acquired the complex and rebranded it as the “Titan Center.” Since then, IRG has made significant improvements to attract a diverse mix of industrial and commercial tenants.
Pocatello’s contributions during WWII remain a proud chapter in the city’s rich history.