Underground Base - Dawsonville GA

I have lived in Dawsonville all my life and live very close to Dawson Forest. Lockhead and the nuclear testing that was done there is a well known fact in this area. It's not a myth or legend to us. We all know about it and there are plenty of old timers that worked there long ago that will tell you stories and then some that won't say anything. Around here, Dawson Forest is just thought of as a nature preserve for those who love outdoor recreation: fishing, hunting, biking, horseback riding, etc. Of course, it is a little mysterious due to its nuclear past and creepy because of all of the bodies that have been found in there lately: 3 just in the past 5 or years or so. Teenagers are usually the most intrigued. Many have been down into a couple of the facilities. The opening of one is a hole that they jump into. Once inside they wade through water and look at all of the scarey devil worshipper grafiffti. They explore for a while then climb back out the way they came. Others go down where there are steps. I've always been too chicken for this type of thing. Alot of old timers talk about there being alot of animals back in the 70-80's that had mutations: three eyes, glowing fish, etc. There are many concrete structures that can be seen but we usually pass right by on our way fishing or hiking. Something that I think is weird is how they do a control burn there every year. My husband says it's necessary for the regrowth but I don't get why this doesn't happen at other forest reserves as often as it does there. After learning in Biology about how it takes billions of years for certain types of nuclear waste (uranium) to decompose and how there therefore is no safe way of storing it, I am worried about there being radiation in the Etowah river which we love to fish in, swim in, etc. Also, our well water comes from a creek underground and who knows where that creek runs or what runs in it. I wonder how I can find out if there is any radiation. I have heard of some type of meter I could use. I don't know where to find one though. I guess that's what ebay is for!!! Anyway, parts of my whole family have lived very close to Dawson Forest in Dawsonville and played in the rivers and creeks as children and adults and have eaten the fish our whole lives and we're all fine so hopefully whatever went on there is long gone atleast we hope so.....

I have been researching, exploring, and collecting data on the Dawson Forest Lockheed Facility for over twenty years. I have been into four separate underground areas untouched by water. I have been inside the block house and it's adjacent buildings prior to the steel plate being wielded over the door. Originally the block house was closed by cemented cinderblock, which was easily destroyed.

I will now share some of the data I have collected over the years.


[edit on 17-8-2010 by ammoclip]

This sketch shows one of the main tunnel locations.

Railed transportation for moving resources involved in a nuclear test facility.

Older photo from it's operational days. This is now where you find those blank concrete pads.

This clearly shows the water routes.

I wish this aerial photo was clearer, unfortunately images from the facilities operational years are very hard to come by.

Originally posted by behindthescenes

Originally posted by dAlen
I would guess that Atlanta probably has a whole city underground.
Anyone ventured in the sewers there to find out?

Peace

Dalen

Well, we do have something called Underground Atlanta, which is cheesy at best. But if you're referring to the underground city postulated on the television show "Vanished," not to my knowledge. Although there has been consistent rumors that a cadre of secretive masonic leaders rushed its stockpiles of gold and silver and cash into a secret vault near Stone Mountain just before the Union Army burned Atlanta to the ground.....

In fact, the carving on Stone Mountain is actually the Mason's treasure map to its buried loot. If you allegedly trace lines from where the three figures on the mountain -- Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson -- are gazing off to, the vertex will literally land you x-marks-the-spot of the secret vault.

amazing legend! i live in stone mountain village, and the people in this 7k populace have been here for generations, but in regards to the OP....THUMBS UP oh... for the sleuth work and subsequent confirmation by AMMOCLIP... makes me want to around up there. i'd bring a camera!
georgia(est. 1732 a.d.) has always struck me as a state with secrets, especially since it's one of the original colonies. when i first moved here 16yrs ago, and visited savannah(the underground tunnels) and oglethorpe plantation(just plain weird) the only thing i could say was, "damn, i know this state has its' share of secrets."

good find buddy!

now if only we could explore the city of atlanta.....this is one of the best, conclusive threads on ATS IMO. now to uncover the history of this area as i've seen according to pic a "radiological effects" section mentioned. effects according to what/whom?



*most of my questions/concerns have been answered after reading through many pages in this thread regarding this Gov site. thanks to whoever dug this thread up..lol!*

[edit on 17-8-2010 by ahmonrarh]

Unfortunately the rest of my photos aren't translating very well into digital images. I'd like to comprise a list of areas of interest when exploring the lockheed facility. I will work on marking the ruined locations of the facility on a map and try to get that uploaded soon. I also hope to answer questions about the Lockheed facility.

In years past I have had the opportunity to interview many of the personel involved in the construction, operation, and deconstruction of the nuclear facility. A couple topics of interest I feel are true from the collaboration of several different sources is that there indeed was extensive research of nuclear radiation on wood.

One ex-employee claimed that the radiated wood's new properties made it super hard. I remember one account of a drill-bit breaking as they tried to drill into the exposed wood.

Another subject that seems to be agreed on by several witnesses is that the facility was closed due to presidential order. Many would believe they exhausted their research into nuclear aircraft, but in fact the facility was only opened a short time. I was told by one ex-employee that when the order was given they were instructed to leave immeadiately. So immeadiate that coffee cups were left on the desks, jackets on the back of chairs. Throughout my many excursions into the underground area I never found any evidence of this however.

This is a sloppy diagram of the inside of the blockhouse, from memory.


These concrete walls are unbelievably thick and undoubtly reinforced. The black door on the sketch represents the exterior door I entered when the cinderblock obstuction had been broken. The door now has a thick sheet of metal wielded over the opening.

There is however an opening on the roof that remains open to this day. Ascending the roof would be very difficult and would require gear and experience. I recall water dripping in from that opening when I was inside. I recall the building was divided into two halves by a very thick concrete wall. The interior was covered in graffiti. Thick concrete slabs laid strewn across the floor as if dropped from above.

In one half of the building a second story concrete floor covered half the room, very high up(maybe 12 feet). There was alot of red clay/mud spread all over the floor/concrete slabs. There was no furniture, fixtures, plumbing or wiring of any sort. Basically the inside of the block house was just concrete and dirt. The block house seemed to appear larger from the inside, than the outside.


There are many smaller concrete structures all around the block house that are not sealed up. Most of the areas inside these buildings are less than 10 ft x 10 ft. One building had stairs going down but dirt filled up the access and only the top was visable. It has been well over a decade since I have been inside the 3 fenced area of the block house.

[edit on 17-8-2010 by ammoclip]

[edit on 17-8-2010 by ammoclip]

Originally posted by dAlen
I would guess that Atlanta probably has a whole city underground.
Anyone ventured in the sewers there to find out?

Actually, there is a series of underground passageways that connect various buildings. Most of the tunnels I know exist for fact, connect the emory buildings and other medical research related buildings together.

Hartsfield international airport also has a large series of tunnels that connect the terminals together.

And I am willing to bet that the state capital has underground entry/exit for security reasons.

www.cleanwateratlanta.org...

[edit on 18-8-2010 by ammoclip]

Although born before the facility's closing, I was still a child through the 70s. However, I clearly remember camping on the edge of the river not far away from the remaining tunnel entrance. (This lies just beyond where the current paved road ends) with my family and the adults would go exploring the surface buildings and venture into the tunnel. My father's best friend was among these and he always carried a rad. detector and a camera to document whatever they found. I know that as of 1978, the tunnel that people talk about digging their way into still had a old late 50s Army Jeep stuck in the middle of it in an attempt to keep people from going beyond it. Years later, the jeep was removed and more serious attempts were made to block the tunnel entrance from trespassers. Pics of the tunnel and the jeep do exist and I hope that I'm able to get my hands on them to post. Of the more interesting pics I know to exist, there were a few from the bottom of the stairway at the end of the tunnel. It showed a large room, with rusting metal shelving plus some other items. As a teen, my friends and I went exploring there frequently, but by that time, the Jeep was long since gone and the waters had flooded most of the tunnel. The room where the stairway to the lower levels was about waist deep already and without diving equipment, going down them would have been suicide.

I'll see if I can get my hands on the pictures from relatives and friends to scan for posting.

Originally posted by PoetNWar I'll see if I can get my hands on the pictures from relatives and friends to scan for posting.

That would be wonderful! I'd love to download a copy of the pictures for my collection. I had always heard about the jeep from the older kids in the area but was never able to verify. Thanks!

I found a really well written summery of the dawson forest history.

northgeorgiamountainramblings.wordpress.com...


Could there be a conspiracy here? The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was in 1963 and the GNAL here stayed in operation until 1971.

The discovery channel made a great documentary of the USA's atomic flight research. The Dawson Forest GNAL wasn't mentioned at all.

www.youtube.com...

[edit on 19-8-2010 by ammoclip]

Originally posted by dAlen
Live and learn, maybe I will find something here in Hungary...

Here is a video of hungary's secret underground!
www.youtube.com...

Thanx for posting this info...I'd really like to see more pics of the lab too!

[edit on 7-9-2010 by mm30004]

Does anybody have any info of the SDF test area just north of the RDF test area? I'd like to find the exact location!

I've done some searching around the web and found this...

Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory
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The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory, also known as AFP No. 67, for Air Force Plant 67 was a United States Air Force test facility located in the Dawson Forest in Dawsonville, Georgia. It was the site of Lockheed's lab for investigating the feasibility of nuclear aircraft. The site was used for irradiating military equipment, as well as the forest to determine the effect of nuclear war, and its effects on wildlife. The area was closed in 1971 and acquired by the city of Atlanta for a second airport, but its topography was determined to be ill-suited for an airport. Documents explaining what went on at the site remain highly classified

I think this is the site u mentioned

Interesting thread and info.

I'd be willing to bet there's some plenty "hot" mess in there somewhere. The way it was closed down was probably a CYA type operation before Carter (as governor) could ever get a look around and come back with the NRC. (Navy "nukes" tend to have a tendency for some serious standards, since they practically live atop their reactors.) Outdoors you should be ok, but somewhere inside the radiation count is likely to go up pretty quick. The water should give some shielding (iirc, 3ft of water is like 1in of steel), but unless the level is actively maintained and monitored - such protection is haphazard at best. Given the nature and history of the location, it really should be treated as a superfund-type hazmat site. It seems unwise to be poking around without any dosimetry badges or geiger counter.

As a follow up, any of you folks that were crazy enough to go in should really let us know if you get cancer within 5 years. Radioactive materials aren't a joke in that regard. That's why they shut it down, cemented it up, and filled it with water. And then they kept it fairly quiet from the public, because it really does sound like a superfund site cover-up operation.