# Secret Military Lab/ Dawson Wma



## earl (Dec 4, 2007)

There Is A Good Article In Georgia Backroads Magazine On This Installation. If I Remember There Was A Thread Asking About This Much Earlier In The Year.


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## 60Grit (Dec 4, 2007)

Not again !!!


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## Jranger (Dec 4, 2007)

60Grit said:


> Not again !!!



 I know some folks that grew up around there, no tellin whats buried up there...


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## AccUbonD (Dec 4, 2007)

Is this Area 50 or 52


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## Russ Toole (Dec 4, 2007)

Lockheed or martin marietta was doing nuclear experiments to see if nuclear powered aircraft were feasible.  I think thats about as secret as it was.


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## 60Grit (Dec 4, 2007)

Destin Bound said:


> martin marietta was doing nuclear experiments to see if nuclear powered aircraft were feasible. I think thats about as secret as it was.


 
Is that why my snake boots glowed in the dark after I hiked through that place???


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## acurasquirrel (Dec 4, 2007)

I know they also did some unshielded testing to determine the affects on the wildlife and managed to kill a bunch of mice, and a tornado also came through where the stored alot of the waste.


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## Jranger (Dec 4, 2007)

AccUbonD said:


> Is this Area 50 or 52



It's area 50, but ... it's right off 52


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## 7Mag Hunter (Dec 4, 2007)

Thats where research was done on bigfoot before he escaped !!


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## Seminole61pf (Dec 4, 2007)

Also the cause of all the reported Black Panthers and perhaps the Pink Panther as well.


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## Jeff Phillips (Dec 4, 2007)

Here is part of a paper about Dawson Forest. The GNAL was a real deal.

Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract – Then and Now
                    By Nathan McClure C.F.

Early Years

	During the late 1930’s and early 1940’s Roscoe Tucker, a citizen of Dawson County, purchased several small farms.  These farms consisted of some cleared fields, abandoned fields and woodlots.  By the 1950’s Tucker had obtained enough land to comprise a single contiguous tract of over 10,000 acres.  In 1956 initial efforts to establish a military research facility in southern Dawson County were began by the United States Federal government, with the General Services Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, and the Air Force all involved.  The needed land was purchased from the Tucker holdings and included what is now the Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract. 

Cold War Era

The Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory (GNAL) was operated on the site by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation for the US Air Force from the late 1950’s until 1971.  The initial intention of research at GNAL was to design a nuclear powered airplane.  Although this project was not successful, other radioactive material related research was performed at GNAL.  A small (10 mega-watt) radiation effects reactor was used in the research efforts from 1958 through 1970.  The site was decommissioned and closed in 1971 by Lockheed.  Lockheed, having obtained ownership of the land, sold 10,130.4 acres to the City of Atlanta in 1972.  The City was anticipating the need for a second airport for the metropolitan Atlanta area and purchased this tract, as well as 10,000 acres in Paulding County.  

The land areas used by GNAL have continuously been monitored and studied for detrimental environmental and health effects since the 1971 decommissioning of the site.  Three major post-operational studies of the area have been performed: 

(1)	Radiation Surveillance and Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area, Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division, 1978
(2)	Report of the Dawson Forest Task Force, 1991
(3)	Radiological Review of the Former Georgia Nuclear Laboratories Site, Camp Dresser and McKee, 1998

The 1978 Report found residual radiation amounts in two areas and recommended fencing of the areas to prevent public access.  The areas were fenced at that time.  Although the studies performed in 1991 and 1997 showed radiation levels to be at or only slightly above “background” or normal levels in and around the fenced areas, it was decided to maintain the public access restriction.  Currently there are two restricted areas comprising approximately 3 acres out of the 10,000 acres.  The Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia DNR Environmental Protection Division (EPD) monitor these areas.   The EPD posts instruments and check them every three months to detect any change in the radiation levels.  Both the 1991 and the 1998 Reports indicate that the areas used by GNAL on Dawson Forest do not present a health or safety problem for the public.  

Natural Resource Management Administration

No land management occurred on the property from 1973 through 1975 (immediately after purchase of the land by the City of Atlanta Department of Aviation).  During this time period the access roads within the property became washed out and overgrown, there was unlimited public access, frequent dumping of garbage and debris, and general deterioration of the site.  As a result, officials representing the City asked the Georgia Forestry Commission to manage the City’s land holdings in Dawson and Paulding Counties.  In July of 1975 the Commission and the City signed a formal Agreement that established the Georgia Forestry Commission as the manager of the “Dawson Forest” and “Paulding Forest”.  

Soon afterwards, the GFC entered into additional Agreements with the Georgia DNR Game and Fish Division (currently Wildlife Resources Division), which allowed for the creation of the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area and Paulding Forest Wildlife Management Area.  The Agreements state that the City-owned lands will be available as public hunting and fishing areas and that the DNR will develop areas for wildlife (food and habitat areas) within the Forests.  Since that time the DNR Wildlife Resources Division has purchased land to add to the WMA.  The Wildlife Resources Division manages these DNR-owned lands for wildlife and the GFC has no management responsibility in these areas.   

The Start of Forest Management

Initial activities by the resource managers on City lands focused on improving access and boundaries.  Roads were graded with proper drainage installed.  Some gates were constructed to limit traffic and reduce damage to secondary forest roads.  The boundaries were posted with DNR Wildlife Management Area signs.  In 1976 a general inventory of the timber resource was performed which indicated that 82% of the Dawson Forest was found to be pine or stands of trees where pines and hardwoods were mixed together.  The remaining areas were hardwood areas.  General recommendations were prescribed by the GFC.  The recommendations included prescribed burning of the pine areas, thinning of dense pine stands, and harvest of pine and pine/hardwood mixed stands as markets became available.  Prescribed burning was performed in several areas in the late 1970’s and 1980’s.  However, timber thinnings and harvests were not conducted prior to 1988 except for those involved in forest research projects.


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## stev (Dec 4, 2007)

Bomber plant up on the wma dawson forest.Thats what the ole bunkers sre for on the river.


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## acurasquirrel (Dec 4, 2007)

the old bunkers are the concrete filled remains of the reactor building, the triple fenced building near the horse parking area is the hot cell where they store the radioactive material there was also an outside storage area somewhere (I havent found that yet)


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## hunter_58 (Dec 4, 2007)

When I first hunted Dawson forest about 30 years ago. While scouting a few days before opening day, there were guys in white suits with testing equipment running around those old conc. bldings down at the river. They also used to test your deer at the checkout station.


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## acurasquirrel (Dec 5, 2007)

Here is a good article on it http://www.pickensprogress.com/archive/insidedawsonforest.html
If you google "dawson forest radiation levels" six results down will be a forum post thats a bit scifi for me but its about people who did some exploring Im a bit hesitant to believe all of it though.


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## pnome (Dec 5, 2007)

Aliens.

Check out this thread on the topic:  http://forums.gon.com/showthread.php?t=88249


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## dawg2 (Dec 5, 2007)

That is why the deer are so big in there.


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## hicktownboy (Dec 5, 2007)

I live in Ball Ground... been up to the forest a few times... so how many of yall ACTUALLY SEEN this place?


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## Russ Toole (Dec 5, 2007)

I can walk to an area in Dawson wma that still has old barbed wire fencing with rusted warning signs attached saying keep out radiation area or something like that.  There about every 50ft buried in the leaves still attached to the fallen down fencing.


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## Rem270 (Dec 5, 2007)

Hicktownboy, acurasquirrel and I have hunted it several times.  It's a cool place!!!  I actually designed a kitchen for an older woman who worked there back in the day.  She told me all about the place and the tests.  It started out as a place for Lockheed to test a nuclear powered aircraft but then just turned into a place to test open air reactors and the effects of radiation poisoning.


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## dawg2 (Dec 5, 2007)

Rem270 said:


> and the effects of radiation poisoning.




Sounds like they might still be doing it


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## R G (Dec 8, 2007)

I am sure it is safe(?), but it is still un-nerving to run across a radioactive warning sign while you are out hunting.


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## Stan in SC (Dec 8, 2007)

In 1985 I purchased 10 acres adjacent to Dawson Forest and built a house on the land.I lived there for 5 years during which time I hunted,hiked ,rode dirt bikes and 3 wheelers on back roads and just generally explored all over the whole acreage.I killed several good deer on the tract.I saw and shot a lot of wild dogs there.
There are a lot on interesting places on that WMA.You will run across fenced in areas with radiation warning signs.
The so called "bunkers" down by the river are where they drew in cooling water for the reactor.It is not "bunkers".
There's a lot of people who don't know anything about Dawson Forest who spread a lot of hare brained tales about the place.I know where the entrances to the main tunnels are which entrances are bulldozed closed...but accessible in other ways.I also discovered an Indian gold mine on the area.This was verified by a local expert.
It is an interesting place,not dangerous and a lot of fun to explore.
There's some BIG deer there.
Stan


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## Luke0927 (Dec 11, 2007)

If you come in from HWY 9 and and take dawson forest rd directly in the Atlanta tract, at the horse parking lot i have been in one of the buildings behind the single fence someone else had dug down to a window and we found it when we were in highschool (im only 22 so it wasn't long ago)  there wasnt much in the spot we were able to go....

then if you take the road straight down to where the pavement ends you could see the top of a concrete building....that one was dug down to an old window or something we got in that one and were able to go down about 3 flights of stairs till we reached water....we were able to see a room flooded and there was a chair floating in it and some other debries....it was very cold water i have always heard they flooded it with the river and if you keep going hte etowah is just down the dirt road a little further....

My cousin has it on video camera i need to check to see if he still has it.

My parents property backs directly up to the power lines on the atlanta track so my friends and i have done a lot of exploring...i have also found a cave and some huge holes/craters that looked like they were blown out and then just filled in slightly.


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## nontypical (Dec 11, 2007)

thats correct.im from dawson co.two of my aunts and one of thems husband worked there back in the day.ive been in the same buildings and 3 different caves.theres a spot in which the entrance is about 17inches at the opening.it is a long tunnel with water in it.i was in highschool.one of my friends took a inflatable small raft inside and blew it up and floated a long ways down,we walked above on the top of the tunnel which is covered by dirt.about 175yds down the concrete surfaces and theres a hole that goes through to the inside,almost like a vent hole.we could hear him paddling and begain yelling to him.he eventually turned around due to dead light batteries.


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## Russ Toole (Dec 11, 2007)

nontypical said:


> thats correct.im from dawson co.two of my aunts and one of thems husband worked there back in the day.ive been in the same buildings and 3 different caves.theres a spot in which the entrance is about 17inches at the opening.it is a long tunnel with water in it.i was in highschool.one of my friends took a inflatable small raft inside and blew it up and floated a long ways down,we walked above on the top of the tunnel which is covered by dirt.about 175yds down the concrete surfaces and theres a hole that goes through to the inside,almost like a vent hole.we could hear him paddling and begain yelling to him.he eventually turned around due to dead light batteries.




Man yall were either brave, nuts or idiots haha.  Crawling into small opening with water and rafting underground in the dark. Geezzz, no way hosay.


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## nontypical (Dec 11, 2007)

yeah i forgot to mention the vent hole had a symbol painted beside it that was similar to a biohazzard sign.so maybe we were idiots.


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## Lorren68 (Dec 11, 2007)

well how many of yall explorers glow in the dark


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## Luke0927 (Dec 13, 2007)

nontypical said:


> thats correct.im from dawson co.two of my aunts and one of thems husband worked there back in the day.ive been in the same buildings and 3 different caves.theres a spot in which the entrance is about 17inches at the opening.it is a long tunnel with water in it.i was in highschool.one of my friends took a inflatable small raft inside and blew it up and floated a long ways down,we walked above on the top of the tunnel which is covered by dirt.about 175yds down the concrete surfaces and theres a hole that goes through to the inside,almost like a vent hole.we could hear him paddling and begain yelling to him.he eventually turned around due to dead light batteries.




some cool stuff down there i would love to know all of whats around there....when did you go to school?  I graduated in 04


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## dixie (Dec 13, 2007)

kinda on and off topic, but do a search on oak ridge tn. and look at the then and now pics. One of the most massive projects ever undertaken by this nation and the very first atomic project is marked now by only a water pipe or two showing and a few bricks. Maybe this is a part  of a project that got forgotten by the gov. 
Could explain that pack of werewolves we have at the club


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## SWbowhunter (Dec 14, 2007)

Well after the good lord blessed me with our 3rd bundle of joy this october, Very unexpectedly, everytime I bowhunted behind the horse camp I strolled slowly by the hot cell thinking it may slow the swimmers down to prevent any more suprises


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## Robk (Dec 14, 2007)

PM Coastie.  He'll give you the straight scoop on the place.  He's only got 11 fingers so it can't be all that bad....


R


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## bigmthbass (Dec 14, 2007)

can someone post good directions to get up there from cartersville...i would love to hike around there and check all this out.. sounds amazing


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## acurasquirrel (Dec 14, 2007)

http://www.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=810992303123286748,34.365264,-84.168216&time=&date=&ttype=&saddr=cartersville,+ga&daddr=GA-318+%4034.365264,+-84.168216&mra=pi&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=15&sll=34.358848,-84.164629&sspn=0.026358,0.057335&ie=UTF8&ll=34.367811,-84.132442&spn=0.05271,0.11467&t=h&z=14&om=1/]Directions  to Dawson Forest WMA
This should get you to the old reactor site.  The old hot cell building in on the right about a mile or 2 before you get to the reactor


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## GA_SPORSTMAN (Dec 14, 2007)

I saw the article in the magizine.I looked over part of the article .I am planning to buy it when I


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## GA_SPORSTMAN (Dec 14, 2007)

I saw the article in the magizine.I looked over part of the article .I am planning to buy it when It again.Does anyone have directions or where I can find a map for it.


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## GA_SPORSTMAN (Dec 15, 2007)

-Take GA 400 north to Dawson Forest Rd. (This is the traffic light intersection at the Premium Outlet mall. Look for the mall on the left and an Arbys on the right.) 
-Take a left onto Dawson Forest Rd. and you will come to a four way stop at Lumpkin Campground Rd. 
-Go straight through the four way stop and continue probably 2 or 3 miles. 
-The next stop sign you come to will to will the the intersection of Dawson Forest Rd. and Hwy. 9 
-Go straight across Hwy. 9 (be extra careful when crossing b/c of the way the road curves, it is hard to see on-coming traffic) 
-Continue past the Hwy. 9 intersection (you will pass a fire station on the right) until you come to the South Gate, as us locals call it, at Dawson Forest. 
-Once in the gate you can take the first right and come upon numerous concrete slabs. 

Thats pretty much the most direct way to Dawson Forest. Also, before entering though the gate there is a gravel road on the right. About half a mile down that road there is a bridge, if you stop in the middle of the bridge and look to the left you can see a concrete building. I'm not sure what that building was used for. If you choose to continue down this road you will need a four wheel drive to cross the 3 foot deep river about 2 miles down the road. That road will lead you to the north side of Dawson Forest, or as locals call it "North Gate." Anyway, I have heard tale that the concrete slabs I mentioned in the directions are actually the hoofs of buildings that were part of the base. As for the purpose of the base, I heard the nuclear testing was used in the development of a nuclear powered airplane. If you continue down the road without turning right at the concrete slabs the road will turn into gravel about 1 or 2 miles down. At this point, if you look to the left you can see a concrete building through the brush and the river behind it. This was the hot cell building. Back in the day the reactor was down in the river. It has since been removed. I know that for a fact because a longtime Dawsonville resident and also an Etowah Water Authority technician told me the reactor was removed. Anyway, continue beyond that and you will come to the dis-mantled remains of the bridge that Hex mentioned in previous posts. Back to the concrete slab area, at the back left corner of this area there is a rather tall building that has a fence around it. This is one of a few areas of Dawson Forest that is supposed to be "off-limits."
   I just got these directions off another site from someone who lives close to there.Sounds like an itersting place to check out.


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## potsticker (Jan 10, 2008)

We will dwell in this land!


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## whitworth (Jan 10, 2008)

*Did you come home from hunting one night*

and your wife tells you that you are glowing in the night.

Is that what's bothering you bunky?


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## GA DAWG (Jan 19, 2008)

Yall stay away from the place. Its very very dangerous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## mightymikehedman (Jul 23, 2009)

Does anybody ever go up and explore this place anymore?


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## GA DAWG (Jul 23, 2009)

I've been up there 3 or 4 times this week..


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## Backlasher82 (Jul 23, 2009)

AccUbonD said:


> Is this Area 50 or 52



This is Georgia, Area BR-549.


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## shakey gizzard (Jul 24, 2009)

I have seen many of bearded hens around there but there aint no deer in there. Oh yeah,make sure you have a full tank of gas and a spare tire before you enter!


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## mightymikehedman (Jul 24, 2009)

I just found out about this place earlier this year. I got a place at Windrock Mt. which is near Oakridge, Tn...I was showing my neighbor a picture of the SDF tower test facility near the Y12 plant...he then told me about GNAL's history at Dawson Forrest. It was hard to believe that I have been up here over 25 years and never heard about this place. Since then, I've been up there several times checking out the numerous places of interest. I was wondering if anyone else had been exploring up there? I'd like to go back this winter after hunting season & the snakes quit crawling! LOL!





One of my pics of the SDF test towers at Oakridge Tn. They had the same test towers at Dawson Forrest about a mile north of the RDF test area...does anyone know exactly where this area is? There should be some underground labs at this location also!


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## papasmurff (Aug 12, 2009)

glows when you go by there


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## big buck down (Aug 29, 2009)

My Mom is from Oakridge, Tn.  My Papaw worked at X-10,K-25,Y-12.  Still got Family in that area.





mightymikehedman said:


> I just found out about this place earlier this year. I got a place at Windrock Mt. which is near Oakridge, Tn...I was showing my neighbor a picture of the SDF tower test facility near the Y12 plant...he then told me about GNAL's history at Dawson Forrest. It was hard to believe that I have been up here over 25 years and never heard about this place. Since then, I've been up there several times checking out the numerous places of interest. I was wondering if anyone else had been exploring up there? I'd like to go back this winter after hunting season & the snakes quit crawling! LOL!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Cottontail (Aug 29, 2009)

Thats why the deer have glowing eyes at night i thought it was from my headlights.


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## whitworth (Aug 30, 2009)

*Lordy,*

did some newbie get hit by radioactivity?  Newbies are great at making first time discoveries.


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