5 Ghost Towns the U.S. Military Left Behind

UnsplashThroughout history, there have been dozens of ghost towns the U.S. military left behind. There are several reasons behind ghost towns, for instance, experimental purposes, towns that are built solely for the military but are eventually forgotten about, and more. Let's jump back in time and explore the ghost towns the U.S. military left behind.

The town of Hanford is one of the many ghost towns the U.S. military left behind. The town, according to the National Park Service, was an agricultural town cleared by the U.S. government during World War II to make way for the Manhattan Project. Back in 1943, residents were given just 30 days to leave their homes as the government acquired the land for their secret nuclear-weapons project.

The original town was demolished, and the area became part of the complex that produced plutonium for the atomic bomb. Interestingly enough, remnants of the former community, including the ruins of Hanford High School, survive within the Hanford site.

Another one of the many ghost towns the U.S. military left behind is White Bluffs, Washington, and it's the same as the entry above. This farming community was displaced in 1943 after the federal government acquired the land for the Manhattan Project.

Residents had to abandon their homes and farms as the Columbia River valley was transformed into a restricted nuclear production area. The most disturbing fact about this one is that even the town's cemetery was relocated. On May 6, 1943, 177 caskets were moved from White Bluffs Cemetery to Prosser Cemetery. Today, the original townsite lies within the Hanford landscape, a reminder of the communities sacrificed to wartime nuclear development.

Another entry on the list of ghost towns the U.S. military left behind is Babbitt, Nevada. Babbitt was a government-built residential community created to house workers at the Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot during World War II.

The settlement grew around a massive ammunition complex in the Nevada desert, where the military stored and handled weapons and explosives. Interestingly enough, Babbitt was initially segregated. Its history reflects the racial divisions that shaped many American communities during and after the war.

Today, concrete foundations and remnants of former buildings reveal the footprint of a once-active community.

Fortuna Air Force Station was part of the U.S. Air Force's Cold War radar network. It was built to detect potential Soviet aerial attacks. And while this was an important and vital piece of history, it's now just another ghost town.

The station became operational in 1952, when fears of a surprise attack helped drive the construction of remote radar installations across the country. However, the station closed in 1979, and its remaining long-range radar mission ended in 1984. Today, abandoned and demolished structures preserve traces of the former military installation.

Fort Ord, California, is another one of the many ghost towns the U.S. military left behind. The fort was a major U.S. Army installation near Monterey Bay that closed in 1994 after decades of military training.

The eerie history behind it is that thousands of acres were used for military exercises, leaving behind barracks, roads, training grounds, and other infrastructure. What's even worse is that some areas contain unexploded ordnance and require environmental investigation and cleanup. Parts of the former base have been redeveloped, while other sections retain old military structures or remain subject to remediation.