Abandoned military base - Fort Ritchie

Here is a drive through part of the abandoned Fort Ritchie, a military base on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and once the biggest employer in Washington County, Maryland.

The base closed in 1998 as a result of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Act. the place where Cheney was hidden immediately following 9/11.

Fort Ritchie lies at the foot of Quirauk Mountain in the Catoctin Range of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The site is underlain by the Catoctin metabasalt of the Cambrian Period. In its early military days, it was called Camp Ritchie after the land was bought by the state for the Maryland National Guard. During World War II it was transferred to the U.S. Army and became the centralized Military Intelligence Training Center. It went back under state control for a time in the late 40's, but
in 1948, the Army again decided it needed the post for support of the soon-to-be constructed Alternate Joint Communications Center, also known as Site R. The AJCC began operation in 1954, and supporting it was the prime mission of the post for 10 years. (Site R is the place where it has been reported that Cheney was hidden immediately following 9/11.)

After some legal battles, the fort was transferred to PenMar Development Corporation and sold to Corporate Office Properties Trust of Columbia, Maryland in October 2006.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• fort
• ritchie
• cascade
• maryland
• penmar

[saik0pod]

why not turn those homes into civilian homes for the needy?

[9700541]

fema camp anyone?

[batonpatriot]

THE future plans of this base is here : go to fort ritchie dot com for latest news

[amadeporcelana]

You drove past my house

[amadeporcelana]

I live there it's a housing development...

[reedwa1]

My father was chief of buildings and grounds at Ritchie for over 15 years. He worked at the complex shown at 4:00. He had responsibility for all housing and each building on post and at Site R.

Spend a lot of my teenage time at the O club beach in the summer swimming in the lake.

It was a real shame to see the post on the BRAC list. Beside the family connections, it is a beautiful post.

[maximusprr]

Dude if that happen in Puerto Rico next day you will see people moving to the houses trust me i was raised and born there

[halorcks1]

its just a housing base theres a navy one in florida

[cornishrob123]

and yet we build more and more homes 

[erinamoriarty]

I lived there as a little kid preschool/kindergarten aged in the late 70s. Fond memories -- I remember that lake well. My dad retired as SGM there after about 30 years in the Army. Sad to see it looking like a ghost town.

[Schiff1926]

@Kretzerd

No one will admit if it is still being used...I was in the underground bunker in early 80's when working at the Pentagon....pretty cool.