Savanna Army Proving Grounds

The Savanna name is easy to confuse with the Department of Energy Savannah River Site in South Carolina. That confusion worked in the favor of the Army as the Savanna site became the home for US Army nuclear weapons projects. Over time, the Savanna installation became a super-secret development and testing lab where the US Army went when it wanted to be alone, much like the Air Force’s Area 51.

Note—click on each photo to see the full size image.

While water access was key in the location of the Savanna site, there appear to be little in the form of dock facilities. One formerly secret dock is located in the maze of islands on the north end of the installation. That was likely used for commando training with backpack-sized nuclear weapons.

There are rumors that entire barges can enter man-made caverns on the side of the river bluffs where they can be unloaded inside and away from the eyes of Soviet satellites. While that might be unlikely, it is very possible that underground conveyor belts were used to move materials from the docks to various construction sites. As it stands now, there appear to be no roads that run from the river front to the industrial buildings, which means that the materials had to be moved underground.

The site is currently in the hands of a private company that was set up by the base closing commission. They have tried a number of ideas to reuse this facility, but almost nothing has come of it yet. This sign once read Eagles Landing Retirement Community when they hoped the old base housing could be converted into condos for retired people. I guess retired people don’t like living at atomic bomb dumps anymore than the rest of us.

In fact, it was recently revealed that a huge underground data center is located on the Savanna site that once was a major hub for military communications. A company recently proposed reusing this underground data center for large companies to host bomb-proof computer systems. Unfortunately, this idea went belly up with the dot-com crash.

Note—as of 2007, the data bunker concept is back, and is now up and running at Savanna. A network operations center has been set up, and you can now house your servers in a bunker that once was a home to an atomic bomb.

The Savanna site is reported to have had 800 people between the military and workers in the munitions factories. While I was not able to tour the entire facility (I had to keep ducking security guards), I did not see housing for these kinds of numbers. There is also a report that as many as 800 more workers were off the record and working on black projects.

A truck is visible in the background. When I visited, there was a steady stream of truck traffic in and out of the site. Most of the trucks were unmarked white cargo vans or semi-tractors. They did not have either owners name or ICC markings. Since the contaminated soil is being burned on-site, one can only wonder what is being hauled out in these trucks. One report is that they are hauling equipment to the McAllister Army Ammunition Planet in Oklahoma. I find it hard to believe that equipment that has been sitting for 10 years is still of use. It is far more likely that they are hauling out soil and materials that are contaminated with nuclear waste, and taking them to a site in Nevada for storage.

Ironically, the McAllister plant is located in the city of Savanna, Oklahoma, further complicating the name game.

Note the reflection in the mirror at the bottom of the photo. The reflection gives a view of one of the warehouse complexes. We will see in more detail later on.

The stuff stored here was not climate controlled, rather, all the buildings did is keep them dry. That is likely used for storing artillery pieces and parts of such guns awaiting assembly. It might also be for empty bomb and shell casings.

Then again, notice that there are big lightning rods located around the building. It is possible that these are research labs, especially given their isolation from other buildings and complexes.

Notice the pickup truck parked in front of this building. People are actively working on the cleanup in this area. Some of the buildings are contaminated with such dangerous stuff, like WWII era chemical weapons, that robots are being used to do the hands-on work.

Based on the layout of the building, I would guess that this was a fire station. The larger building would be the garage for the fire trucks, while the newer single story building would be the bunk house and living quarters for the fire crews.

All kinds of proposals have come and gone. Trucking companies would like to use the warehouses, but Savanna is no where near any place important. Various things such as a retirement home, rail car repair facility, dot com server farm, telemarketing center, and fish farm has been proposed. Barring that, much of the land has been turned over to the US Fish And Wildlife, who has renamed the place the Lost Mound NWA. As part of being a wildlife area, the facility is again mostly off-limits to all but certain wildlife researchers.

The most recent proposal has come from the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. They used to live in this area prior to losing the Black Hawk war and being forced into exile. They have been attempting to buy the Savanna site and turn it into a reservation for tribe members who want to move back to Illinois. As part of their proposal, they want to build a casino and bingo hall, a call center, a fuel blending facility, a biodiesel plant, and an ethanol plant.

The latest report from the Savanna site Local Redevelopment Authority says that it might take until 2014 to clean up the site to the point where it is safe for the general public.