![]() ![]() These sites stayed active until President George H.W. But the military moved them further north to locations in Missouri, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota so they could reach their targets in Russia and China, while still staying away from highly populated areas. These new missiles were originally supposed to be further south, in states like Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma. The Minuteman missiles replaced Atlas and Titan missiles, some of which were located in Kansas. That was probably about as far as my thinking went, honestly, as a kid.” There are some people who protest against them. “There are some people who think they’re necessary. “As a kid, you’re thinking about these rockets that are in the ground in the Midwest,” Hofer said. He was raised in a part of the country that was home to about 450 missiles during the time. He was born in Nigeria, but soon his family would return to the states, and settle in Eudora, Kansas. Nate Hofer’s father was a Mennonite teacher in Nigeria. Each of these sites housed underground nuclear missiles during the Cold War, part of an effort to hide our doomsday arsenal in the middle of the Great Plains. This is Charlie-03, one of more than 150 retired Minuteman II sites in Missouri. It’s hard to believe that this remote parcel was once home to a weapon powerful enough to wipe out an entire civilization, buried deep underground. Farm equipment also juts into the plot, taking up nearly a quarter of the perfect rectangle of land fenced off from the rest of the world. So the place is now up for grabs.On a farm near Boonville, Missouri, a dog house sits on the north side of a grassy field. While the owner had wanted to open an RV park on the 15-acre parcel, and rehab the lower half, his wife’s death changed his plans. Left inside: a newspaper from 1984, documentation from commanders to the officers, and a Pepsi! The site also has a well and electricity. The upside to its untouched status? This place is a time capsule. “He wanted to rebury it to prevent vandalism” and unwanted guests, according to Hampton. The site is currently buried, because the owner lives out of town and can’t monitor it. ![]() Entry to the missile siloĮxplosive attributes: Decommissioned in 1984, it hadn’t been accessed by the current owner until 2016, when he dug 35 feet down with an excavator into the facility. Now the ranch is selling some of its holdings, including this missile silo. “They didn’t want anyone to have the property, and wanted to expand the ranch,”he says. The current owners operate Falcon Valley Ranch, which is near this site. The silo was purchased in the mid-’80s from the government, he continues. And the paint isn’t peeling,” Hampton says. It “is connected to city water, and interiorwise, it still has the old fixtures, conduit, and duct work. The listing states it’s in “extraordinary condition.” Let’s dig into both of the silos available right now.Įxplosive attributes: This complex comes with 11.78 acres and panoramic views of the Rincon and Dragoon mountains. Now interest in these underground Cold War relics as private property is red-hot. “I think when they decommissioned them, they thought no one would step in them ever again,” Hampton says. “All the Titan II complexes were built to the same standards and layout,” he explains. “It’s pretty rare that one comes up, let alone three in about a three-month period,” Hampton says. The remaining one is now part of a museum. Fifty-three of the sites were shut down, partly demolished, and sealed shut. In the 1980s, the Titan II program was deactivated. Accessed by elevators and staircases and equipped with escape hatches, the facilities now need to be completely rebuilt. Originally designed for a 10-year deployment, the missiles stayed in operation for some 24 years, and had to be monitored around the clock, with personnel eating, sleeping, and working on-site. Built in the 1960s during the Cold War, these secret silos existed in three states: 18 apiece in Arizona, Arkansas, and Kansas. ![]()
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