Valley Girl Views: The Abandoned Nuclear Jet Bunkers In The Quehanna Wild Area

One of the two bunkers left in the Quehanna Wilds. Jet engines would be strapped to nearby cement structures, while Curtiss Wright Employees watched them from the bunkers. The engines would be observed until they burnt up, or blew apart.

Also Nearby:

A short distance into the woods in the Quehanna Wilds sit two separate bunkers, relics of 1953 Eisenhower's "Atom's For Peace" initiative. Two years after announcing his policy, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation (Formed when Orville & Wilbur Wright's Company merged with Curtiss' aircraft development company, in 1929), purchased & leased a combination of 54,000 acres for nuclear research, development, and testing facility. The corporation had received a contract to build nuclear powered jet plane motors for the Air Force.

Millions of dollars were spent building roads, buildings, even a new town with a school, in the area, where more than 200 hunting camps had had their leases terminated with short notice.

But within just a few years time, the Air Force decided not to use nuclear engines, the government contracts were cancelled, and all of the other Curtiss-Wright Operations in the area were abandoned. Today, all that is left are some overgrown roads, crumbling cement structures, and two bunkers - one above ground, and one that has been covered up with ground. There's not a lot to see, but it's interesting, and the walk is short and easy.

One Of The Abandoned Jet Fuel Bunkers In The Quehanna Wilds
Bunker Coords - Bunker gps 41.24169, -78.19979

On December 8 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced a new "Atoms Peace Policy". It's purpose was to harness atomic power for peaceful purposes. Under this new program, the airplane manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corp sought a large isolated area to locate a new facility to built nuclear powered jet engines for the Air Force.

In April of 1955, 53,000 acres (84 sq miles) known as the Quehanna area, in the counties of Clearfield, Cameron, and Elk, were set aside for a research a nuclear research, development, and testing facility.
State legislature authorized the sale of 8579 acres at $22.5 an acre, and a 99 year lease on an additional 42, 576 acres at $30,000 a year.

The state of Pennsylvania cancelled 212 camp site leases to ensure security for the Curtiss Wright operation. The abandoned Kunes camp is just one of the many hunting camps that was abandoned, but of all the remains scattered throughout the woods, it's the definitely one of the most interesting to see. The camp was built using the existing natural boulders as it's side walls.

The Curtiss-Wright corporation was formed in 1929 - a merging of Orville & Wilbur Wright's Company with the company of Glenn H. Curtiss, who pioneered aircraft development during the period the Wright Brothers made their first flight.

By November of 1955 seven buildings had been completed. Admiral Lewis Strauss spoke at a flag raising ceremony on the site. A year later, the State governor visited the Quehanna area, awarding the Pennsylvania Meritous Medal to Mr. Hurley, and a bronze plaque mounted on a a huge sandstone block was unveiled. A new state highway between Clearfield and Karthaus & the Quehanna area was completed. A nuclear reactor and test laboratory was built, at a cost of more than 1.5 million dollars. A housing development and school was built in Pine Glen.

The goal was to develop nuclear-powered jet engines for the United States Air Force, so that fighter planes and bombers could stay airborne indefinitely, without refueling. But operations at the Curtiss Wright facility in the Quehanna area ranged from testing jet plane engines, to a new plastic called Curon, used in everything from sponges to wall coverings. The facility explored the use of coal as a binder for building roads. (It's unknown if an actual nuclear engine was ever successfully constructed here. While jet engines were frequently tested, it's not believed that any of them were nuclear jet engines)

In April 1957, Curtiss Wright employed 32,000 worked in 17 divisions and subsidiaries throughout the United States and two foreign countries. Their sales in 1956 were 571,000,000.

Inside one of the bunkers

By 1960, the operations in Quehanna were failing. The Air Force decided not to pursue nuclear-powered aircraft, and the federal government cancelled the 70 million dollar contracts. The attempts with coal for road building were unsuccessful, and had been abandoned. Curtiss-Wright donated the small reactor it had constructed at Quehanna to Pennsylvania State University. Finally, the Curon operations were discontinued, the patents and machinery were sold.

"When Curtiss-Wright lost its jet contracts, a new company regime was installed, and the firm virtually wrote off Quehanna following an unsuccessful attempt to produce curon."

By June of 1962, Curtiss Wright announced it was abandoning all operations in the Quehanna area.

A pond near the bunker

Curtiss-Wright completely vacated the Quehanna lands in 1963, but the reactor building continued to be used by other entities until 1999.

Visiting The Bunker

Parking Coords - 41.23709, -78.20353 For Bunker #2
It's a short, easy, walk to the bunker. The old road now is overgrown, but it's still very much like walking down an overgrown sidewalk, and it's only about half a mile total from the parking area to the bunker.

The "Trail" is the overgrown road.

Which at points is overgrown to the width of a very narrow sidewalk.

And in other places is covered with moss & leaves.

Where's the bunker?

When the trail "ends" you will be on what looks like an abandoned parking lot, in the middle of the woods. The bunker will be off to the right, in an overgrown tree area. Just keep following the pavement, it will curve slightly to the right, and there's a well worn path into the bunker.