On an October afternoon we anchored just off the Potomac River in the mouth of Chickamuxen Creek and took the small inflatable boat into the swamps, following the creek until it became too small to navigate. We climbed onto the bank to stretch our legs, and noticed a road nearby. It was a pleasant day so we followed the road for about a mile and a half. There were neat buildings scattered along the way and I took a few pictures. The immaculately maintained grounds and numbered buildings suggested that we were on some kind of military reservation, but we encountered no one until a security policeman pulled up in his car and politely informed us that we were in a restricted area and would have to leave. We told him we had come in off the river and he offered to drive us back to where the inflatable was tied up.
Turns out we were on the grounds of the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Building 2012, though small, is characteristic of the buildings we saw on the grounds. Their purpose remains a mystery.
The photos have a feel of the 1940's or 50's. Was it eerily quiet there? So no signs were posted by where you were docked? Good work agent Fuller.
ReplyDeleteRobert, I think most of this was built in the early 1940s and you are right, it was eerily quiet. It is actually very isolated, with water and marshes on three sides. A good agent wouldn't have been "busted" as easily as we were.
ReplyDelete