Discovery Exploration

According to the United States Department of Justice, the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, WV was one of the most violent prisons in operation until its closure in 1995. At its peak, it housed more than 2,000 inmates including the mother of the infamous cult leader and murderer Charles Manson.

The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum was meant to revolutionize the treatment of the mentally ill, but it would become of house of horrors. As the population increased from a mere 250 patients to 2,400, conditions spiraled out of control.

The Portland Breakwater Fort, originally designed to defend against a French invasion force, was integral to England's security in a rapidly changing world. It endured both World Wars, successfully defending against naval and aerial assaults. The fort also served as a critical rally point for the allied forces ahead of the Omaha Beach D-Day invasion.

Once the beating heart of Oregon City's industrial district, the Willamette Falls Sawmill now lies in disrepair. The mill was critical to the development of burgeoning industries throughout the Pacific Northwest including lumber, electricity, and paper. It even was responsible for the first long distances transmission of electricity.

The Keroman Submarine Base is a brutalist nazi relic of World War II. The base was crucial to the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of World War II. It was designed to repair and replenish German u-boats and it survived countless Allied bombings, thanks to a unique design that shielded harbored u-boats from damage.

Once at the forefront of America's nuclear defense system, the Larson Airbase's Titan I Missile silos now lie abandoned and flooded with groundwater. These silos were built to withstand a nuclear attack and were armed with missiles 100 times more powerful than the atomic bomb.

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