Welcome back to the PA abandoned places bucket list! This week, we’re going to talk about the jet bunkers in the Quehanna Wild Area located in Cameron County.

In the early 1900s, the land that now makes up the Quehanna Wild Area was used primarily for logging. After the logging activity slowed, the area was purchased by the state in order to conserve and protect the land.

After the land exchanged hands, an organization called the Civilian Conservation Corps contributed to the improvements and maintenance of the area in the 1930s.

Some time later in the 1950s, President Eisenhower launched his “Atoms for Peace” initiative. This program’s goal was to create a shift from the perception of nuclear science as a dangerous development to viewing it as a potential asset for the progression of humankind (“Atoms”).

As a result of this initiative, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation purchased 80 square miles of land in the Quehanna Wild Area to construct a testing site for nuclear-powered jet engines. A nuclear reactor and a foam factory were also constructed in the fenced in area belonging to Curtiss-Wright.

In 1960, the nuclear program was terminated, and the area was bought back by the state and turned into the Quehanna Wilderness Area. Interestingly, the name “Quehanna” was bestowed upon the property by Curtiss-Wright after a branch of the Susquehanna River.

Today, visitors can still see the two bunkers on the property and other remnants of the land’s time as a nuclear test site. The nuclear reactor, however, has been dismantled and the factory was converted into a minimum security prison and a heavy equipment training school.

While the bunkers are underground, there are a few places visitors can find openings to get a look inside. One of the bunkers even still has a small above-ground building remaining nearby that is closed to the public but still interesting to see from the outside (“The Abandoned”).

In the same general area, visitors can also explore the remains of Kunes Camp, a small hunting camp built in the early twentieth century for a local family.

The camp had to be abandoned when the Curtiss-Wright Corporation purchased the land and was never rebuilt. However, a significant amount of the buildings are still standing today and can be explored by visitors (“Exploring”).

 

Serving as a chance to glimpse into our country’s history with nuclear science as well as the state’s recovering landscape, this area is definitely one that I am eager to take a trip to soon!

Works Cited

“Atoms for Peace.” Atoms for Peace | Eisenhower Presidential Library, www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/atoms-peace.

Cheney, Jim. “Exploring the Abandoned Kunes Camp in the Quehanna Wild Area.” Uncovering PA, 26 July 2020, uncoveringpa.com/kunes-camp-quehanna-wild-area.

Cheney, Jim. “The Abandoned Nuclear Jet Bunkers in the Quehanna Wild Area.” Uncovering PA, 22 Jan. 2021, uncoveringpa.com/jet-bunkers-quehanna-wild-area.