A wealth of history lies in the vast expanse to the north and west of this cache's location. There were originally 1002 "igloos" constructed here in 1941, on this side of the Depot there are 446. There was a 447th igloo that was originally at the Reference point [see gallery], but in the evening hours of 21 March 1944, a crew working there dropped a 500 lb. bomb and it exploded, touching off the other 246 bombs present in the igloo, immediately killing the 6-person crew and shattering windows in Hermiston - 5 miles away. The largest remaining piece of the structure is set up as a memorial near the Headquarters building.[see gallery]
A new memorial has been set up at the site of the Igloo (B 1014) that will be open to the public at an undetermined future date, I will update when that happens.
A couple of branches of the Oregon Trail have been documented to pass through the area. An Interpretive site (see gallery) has been established on the Morrow County side of the former Depot and will be open to the public, again at an undetermined future date. I will also update when it happens.
Burrowing owls and curlews come here to nest each spring. Dozens of habitats for the owls have been set up for them.
The Army safely destroyed via incineration about 15% of the nation's chemical weapon stockpile that had been stored here since the 1960's between September 2004 and October 2011.
Don't forget to sign the log [BYOP]. Congrats to Theodor911 on FTF!