HABS/HAER Inventory for the Woodbridge Research Facility, BPI_0108
Summary
HABS/HAER (Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record) Inventory for the Woodbridge Research Facility. The Woodbridge Research Facility is a subinstallation of Harry Diamond Laboratories in Adelphi, Maryland. In 1952, the Army built a major radio transmitting facility on this site, which was then an isolated woodland. Composed of three principal communications buildings and a transmission tower, the facilities had a counterpart receiving station in La Plata, Maryland. The facility was deactivated in July 1969 and in July 1970, 641 acres at the Woodbridge site were transferred to the U.S. Army Materiel Command. The isolation of the facility and the high moisture content of the soil led to its use as an electromagnetic pulse development and test site. At the same time, the remaining seven acres at Woodbridge (the housing site near the main entrance) were transferred to the U.S. Army Engineer Center at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. In July 1971, HDL acquired the facility when the Army consolidated its nuclear weapons effects research and test activities. The facility currently is used for testing the vulnerability of both new and fielded tactical systems to the effects of nuclear attack. Since actual nuclear detonations testing is now prohibited, a realistic tactical environment is simulated by means of high-voltage electromagnetic pulse (EMP) testing equipment. The 21 permanent buildings at the research facility (19 of which were constructed prior to acquisition by HDL) support this testing activity. All of the research facility's buildings were erected between 1952 and 1972 and are of simple utilitarian construction.
Cite this Record
HABS/HAER Inventory for the Woodbridge Research Facility, BPI_0108. David G. Buchanan. 1982 ( tDAR id: 445889) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8445889
Keywords
Site Name
Building 201
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Building 203
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Building 208
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Woodbridge Research Facility
Investigation Types
Architectural Documentation
•
Heritage Management
General
Collections Management
Geographic Keywords
Blossom Point, MD
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Cedar Neck Point
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Charles County (County)
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Maryland (State / Territory)
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Nanjemoy Creek
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Port Tobacco River
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Potomac River
Spatial Coverage
min long: -79.514; min lat: 38.281 ; max long: -76.838; max lat: 39.749 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contributor(s): David G. Buchanan
Landowner(s): US Army DARCOM
Repository(s): Adelphi Laboratory
Prepared By(s): US Department of the Interior, National Park Service
File Information
| Name | Size | Creation Date | Date Uploaded | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BPI_0108_HABS-HAERInventoryCardsWRF_1982_OCR_PDFA.pdf | 4.04mb | May 18, 2018 2:27:49 PM | Confidential |
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