Lots of spooky stories abound here in Richmond

I'm one of the brewers at Legend Brewing Company, and for the better part of a decade, we had a series of seasonal beers that we called the "Urban Legend" series, and they were all inspired by local folklore.

They all eventually turned into ghost stories.

The lost city of Richmond!

Okay.. this one has to do with Elko Tract in highland Springs.. the highland springs warewolf might figure into this.. if not? I'm sure we can shoehorn it in.

During WWII.. there was a fear that if the axis powers would invade the US. They would bomb the Norfolk navel station first.. head in land to hit targets of interst before bombing DC.. The airforce base at what is now Richmond International was thought to be one of those targets of interests. So the army made a 1/4scale replica of the airstrip a mile or more away and populated the area with dummy buildings that concealled anti-aircraft batteries. The idea was.. that if the invasion DID occur.. Richmond would go into blackout.. the dummy airstrip would be lit up. That the dummy strip was quarter scale, the bombadiers would mess up the timing of the charges, and the anti-aircraft placements would knock-out the bombers.

Flash forward...

This is now surplus property.. so the gubmint gives the land back to Virginia.. specifically Henrico county.. Central state hospital is looking for a new location, and this area of land is a prime candidate.. so the the country develops the property. Making roads and active sewer and water system complete with a water tower..

The local residents aren't keen to what was going to be a desegregated prison for the insane in their backyards, so an active campaign was made against it.

So henrico abandond the project, and let the property return to nature.

However. The airforce base was still right there.. and they patrolled the area.

Many a east end teenager would venture out to "the lost city" to make out, or other such activities to find a MP knocking on the window of the car telling them to skidaddle"

Since the airstrip.and asylum stuff had exited common knowledge..all types of theorys popped up about the area.. raging from secret atomic bunker for congress, to a atomic missle base.. to an alien research base/bunker (The cold war was an interesting time.)

This area is now technology blvd, and the facebook now sits on top of the dummy airstrip.