Hidden away in the landscape of Virginia, Elko Tract, Virginia captures the imagination of history enthusiasts and casual visitors alike. This ghost town, with its abandoned buildings and empty streets, provides a tangible connection to the region’s past and the people who once called it home.
County: Henrico
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 37° 29′ 12.48 N, 77° 14′ 16.44 W
Elevation: Not available
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: Not available
Disestablished: Not available
Comments: Historical evidence indicates elko Tract is a 2,220 acre (9 km²) tract of land in Henrico County, Virginia. It is considered one of Virginia’s most well known ghost towns due to its history as a decoy airfield during World War II and suspicious activity in the area afterwards. The Peninsula Campaign (1862) of the American Civil War brought troops from both the Federal and Confederate Armies through this area.
Remains: Not available
Current Status: Recent surveys indicate the area is the land that makes up Elko Tract was eventually sold by the state under Governor George Allen. Looking to find ways to fund increased prison construction, Governor Allen made it a priority to sell what was considered “surplus” state-owned land. Since 1996, a piece of the northwest section of the Tract has been the home of a semiconductor plant for Infineon Technologies. A 2002 trip into the tract was interrupted by a security guard apparently working for the company (see External Links). Despite increased plans for development of the Elko Tract, a large portion of the original 1953 infrastructure construction is still in place today, including the water tower, building foundations, and several fire hydrants. Remaining Elko Tract infrastructure, however, is threatened by the increased interest in commercial development in the tract.
Remarks: Researchers studying Elko Tract have noted its importance in Virginia’s historical narrative. The town’s rise and fall mirrors many similar communities across the American frontier, offering lessons about sustainability and community resilience.
The Phantom Airfield: Elko Tract’s Journey from World War II Decoy to Virginia’s Most Enigmatic Ghost Town
Nestled in the eastern part of Henrico County, Virginia, approximately five miles southeast of Richmond, lies a 2,220-acre parcel of land with a history as fascinating as it is mysterious. Known as Elko Tract, this seemingly unremarkable stretch of Virginia countryside harbors one of the most intriguing stories of wartime deception, post-war ambition, and ultimately, abandonment. From its strategic role as a World War II decoy airfield to its failed development as a mental health facility and its modern incarnation as a technology park, Elko Tract’s evolution offers a compelling window into American history, military strategy, and social change.
Origins and Wartime Deception
Prior to World War II, Elko Tract consisted primarily of farmland, home to over 40 agricultural families who worked the soil of eastern Henrico County. However, the peaceful rural landscape would undergo a dramatic transformation in 1942, when the United States found itself deeply engaged in global conflict. As the war intensified, military strategists grew increasingly concerned about the possibility of German air attacks on vital American infrastructure, including the Richmond Airport (then known as Byrd Field), which had been converted to a U.S. Army flight training base.
In response to this perceived threat, the federal government made a decisive and somewhat extraordinary move. In the summer of 1943, it condemned and seized approximately 2,400 acres of farmland, forcing dozens of families to vacate their homes and livelihoods. The purpose? To create an elaborate military deception that would potentially save thousands of lives and protect critical infrastructure.
By late 1942, the U.S. Army’s 936th Camouflage Battalion had invaded the tract. Using bulldozers and other heavy equipment, they meticulously crafted a near-exact replica of Richmond’s airport. The soldiers cut and graded dummy runways to mirror Byrd Field’s distinctive triangular layout and complex network of taxiways. But the deception didn’t stop there—it extended to creating an entire false airbase.
The ingenuity behind this phantom airfield was remarkable. Drawing on techniques developed by Hollywood set designers at the beginning of the war, the military populated the fake airfield with an assortment of convincing props. Buildings were constructed from canvas backdrops. Vehicles were fashioned from cloth and wire—so lightweight that a single soldier could pick them up and carry them. Perhaps most impressive were the plywood airplanes, carefully propped up on “landing gear” made from ordinary two-by-fours. Servicemen even trimmed the surrounding brush to create P-47-shaped silhouettes, enhancing the illusion when viewed from above.
Strategic Purpose and Daily Operations
The strategic concept behind Elko Tract was both simple and ingenious. In the event of a night raid by German bombers, Richmond’s city lights would be darkened. Simultaneously, the dummy field would be illuminated, appearing vulnerable and operational. Military planners hoped this would mislead approaching Luftwaffe bombardiers into releasing their payloads on the uninhabited decoy rather than on Richmond itself, its vital port facilities, or the actual airfield.
Adding a layer of defensive capability to the deception, some of the fake structures concealed real anti-aircraft guns, ready to engage enemy aircraft that might fall for the ruse. This combination of deception and concealed firepower represented a sophisticated approach to homeland defense during a time of global uncertainty.
Life at the installation was far from theatrical for the soldiers stationed there. The Army’s 1896th Engineering Aviation Battalion took up residence at the site, living in spartan conditions. Veterans later recalled enduring cold winters in flimsy Quonset huts, a stark contrast to the comfortable homes that had previously occupied the land. The soldiers’ daily duties included routinely moving the props around the base to simulate the activity of a genuine airfield—a tedious but necessary task to maintain the illusion of authenticity.
Elko Tract was not unique in its purpose. Both Allied and Axis forces made extensive use of similar decoys throughout World War II, often successfully diverting attacks from their intended targets. In the United States, major defense contractors employed comparable camouflage techniques. In Burbank, California, a Lockheed aircraft assembly plant was disguised to resemble an ordinary suburban neighborhood when viewed from above. Boeing implemented similar measures to protect its Seattle facilities.
However, as the war progressed, it became increasingly clear that such elaborate deceptions on American soil were unnecessary. Hermann Goering’s ambitious “America Bomber” project never materialized, and the Nazi regime proved incapable of extending its blitzkrieg tactics across the Atlantic. The Luftwaffe never appeared in Virginia’s skies, and Elko Tract’s defensive capabilities remained untested.
In March 1944, the 1896th Engineering Aviation Battalion was redeployed to the Pacific theater, where they applied their skills to constructing actual airfields rather than decoys. Interestingly, they carried with them insignias emblazoned with “L-K-O,” a tribute to their unusual origins at the deceptive Virginia installation.
Post-War Plans and Racial Politics
With the conclusion of World War II, control of Elko Tract passed from the federal government to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state’s leadership saw potential in the property and developed ambitious plans for its future. In the late 1940s, Virginia officials proposed constructing a mental health hospital on the site, specifically designated to serve African American patients.
This proposal emerged during a period when Virginia, like much of the American South, remained firmly in the grip of racial segregation. Despite the fact that the population surrounding Elko Tract at that time was predominantly Black, the hospital project encountered fierce resistance from white residents of Henrico County.
A 1947 article in the Richmond Afro American reported that the project was “fought bitterly by Henrico County residents.” This opposition, combined with persistent financial challenges, resulted in continuous delays to the development. The controversy surrounding the proposed mental health facility provides a window into the complex racial politics of post-war Virginia and the obstacles faced by projects intended to serve the African American community.
Despite the resistance, the state proceeded with initial development work. By the mid-1950s, Virginia had invested approximately $500,000 (equivalent to over $5.5 million in today’s currency) in infrastructure for the planned facility. This included the construction of paved streets, water lines, and sewage systems—all the fundamental elements needed for a substantial institutional complex.
However, a decade after the initial proposal, the hospital remained unbuilt. In February 1957, then-Governor Thomas Stanley announced that the facility would be relocated to Petersburg instead. The Elko Tract project was officially abandoned, leaving behind a curious landscape of developed infrastructure with no buildings to serve—roads leading nowhere, fire hydrants standing sentinel in empty fields, and a water tower rising above the gradually encroaching forest.
The Lost City and Modern Development
For decades following the hospital project’s abandonment, Elko Tract remained largely unused. The infrastructure created for the never-realized mental health facility slowly deteriorated as nature began to reclaim the site. Local residents, often unaware of the area’s true history, began referring to it as “The Lost City” or “Richmond’s lost city,” a name that captured both its mysterious appearance and its status as a place of abandoned potential.
During the Cold War era, parts of the original decoy airfield found a new purpose as a bombing practice target. Sectional charts warned pilots of the “Dummy airfield—for bombing practice only,” creating a curious continuity with the site’s original deceptive purpose. The visible remains of the wartime installation, combined with the later infrastructure development, fueled local curiosity and spawned numerous urban legends and conspiracy theories about the tract’s origins and purpose.
It would take the Commonwealth of Virginia years to find a new direction for the land. The property remained in state hands until the 1990s, when economic development priorities shifted under Governor George Allen’s administration. Looking to fund increased prison construction, Governor Allen prioritized the sale of what was classified as “surplus” state-owned land, including Elko Tract.
Beginning in the 1990s, portions of Elko Tract were finally developed for industrial use, particularly focusing on technological manufacturing. In 1996, a section of the northwest part of the tract became home to a semiconductor plant for Infineon Technologies (later Qimonda). This marked the beginning of the area’s transformation into what is now known as White Oak Technology Park, a modern industrial complex that stands in stark contrast to both the wartime deception facility and the abandoned hospital infrastructure.
Despite this development, significant portions of the original 1953 infrastructure remained visible until relatively recently. Urban explorers and local history enthusiasts would occasionally venture into the less developed areas of the tract, discovering eerie remnants of the past—fire hydrants emerging from overgrown vegetation, curbs defining streets that led nowhere, and the imposing water tower that had become the most visible landmark of this curious historical site.
Elko Tract Today: Remembering a Multilayered Past
Today, Elko Tract continues its gradual transformation from historical curiosity to modern industrial park. The White Oak Technology Park now occupies much of the land, hosting various technology and manufacturing operations. However, when viewed from the air, stretches of the decoy field’s triangular runways can still be discerned peeking through the trees—a ghostly reminder of the site’s wartime purpose.
The story of Elko Tract encompasses multiple layers of American history: the national mobilization during World War II, the complex racial politics of the post-war South, changing approaches to mental health care, and the economic development priorities of more recent decades. Each chapter in its evolution reflects broader currents in Virginia’s and America’s past.
For historians and those interested in military deception, Elko Tract represents a fascinating case study in wartime strategy. The elaborate measures taken to create a convincing decoy—from the careful replication of runway layouts to the construction of lightweight prop aircraft—demonstrate the ingenuity and resources devoted to homeland defense during a period of national crisis.
For those concerned with social history, the abandoned mental health facility project offers insights into the challenges faced by public services intended for marginalized communities during the segregation era. The fierce opposition to the hospital, despite the area’s predominantly Black population, illustrates how racial politics could impede even basic healthcare infrastructure development.
And for urban explorers and lovers of forgotten places, Elko Tract has long held a special fascination as a “ghost town” hidden in plain sight near Virginia’s capital city. Though much of its mysterious infrastructure has now been removed or built over, its legacy lives on in local memory and historical accounts.
A marker along a nearby highway now reveals this once-secret tale of war and deception to passing travelers, ensuring that the unusual history of Elko Tract will not be entirely forgotten. Meanwhile, the airport that Elko’s fake defenses once protected is today Richmond International Airport, a busy commercial facility where the military presence has been reduced to a Virginia National Guard unit that departed in 2007.
Elko Tract stands as a testament to how quickly purposes can change and how layers of history accumulate in the landscape. From farmland to wartime deception, from failed institutional development to modern industrial park, this remarkable piece of Virginia real estate continues to evolve, even as it preserves traces of its multifaceted past.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elko_Tract
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/army-built-decoy-airfield-virginia-180955980/
https://rictoday.6amcity.com/city/elko-tract-history-richmond-va
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/experiences/virginia/vacant-ghost-town-va
