Lorton Nike Missile Site (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Lorton Nike Missile Site
Located north of here was one of three Nike anti-aircraft missile complexes in Fairfax County operated by the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard between 1954 and 1974. The sites were established during the Cold War to defend Washington from Soviet air attack. This complex, along with those at Great Falls and Fairfax, was among thirteen Nike sites that surrounded Washington and Baltimore. The ring of Nike sites was reminiscent of the perimeter of forts that protected the capital during the Civil War. This was the only Nike complex in Fairfax County containing missiles armed with nuclear warheads. It served as a model site for visits by foreign dignitaries.

Erected 1994 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number E-97.)


<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>
<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

National Site:
The Lorton site was often called the “National Site” and used to demonstrate the Nike system to domestic and foreign dignitaries. The official site ID was W-64. The actual control facility and launchers were used for a time as a maximum security prison. (Reference: “Rings of Supersonic Steel” by Mark L. Morgan and Mark A. Berhaw.)