Titan Ranch

This ranch is one of eighteen former Titan II ICBM launch complexes that were built and placed in operation throughout Arkansas during the early 1960s. This 373-9 Titan II Missile Silo in Vilonia, Arkansas was activated on November 15, 1963, and deactivated on February 6, 1986. At that time, the site was left open for six months so the Soviet Union could see that it had been deactivated using satellites and inspectors. After that period, the missile silo was filled with debris, capped, covered with dirt, and seeded for grass. After ten years of clearing the access portal and control center, the former silo is home to the Titan Ranch and the family of owner GT Hill, who offers tours and rents the former silo as event space. Titan Ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 14, 2020.

The Soviet Union detonated a thermonuclear bomb in 1953 which led U.S. leaders to build an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system as deterrence. As part of the nuclear triad strategy which included submarines, land-based missiles, and aircraft armed with nuclear weapons and fueled by refuelers, the Titan II Missile program resulted in fifty-four launch complexes in three states, including eighteen in Arkansas. Each ICBM carried nine-megaton nuclear warheads that could strike targets as far as 5,500 miles away.

As part of the joint disarmament program, President Ronald Reagan’s administration announced plans to retire the Titan II program on September 24, 1981. In addition to encouraging mutual disarmament, the administration had concerns about safety, cost efficiency, and the changing nuclear strategy on modern and precise weapons systems. After removing weapons systems, the first ten feet of the access portal was filled with debris, concrete pieces, and dirt. Then the top was covered with dirt and seeded for grass.

Local resident GT Hill later researched and acquired the site with the goal of converting the former missile silo into a living space and ranch. He worked with area residents over ten years to remove debris, concrete, and dirt. The same factors that made this an ideal and secure site for a defense installation appealed to Hill, and with local springs and the finished spaces deep underground, the site is secure from most natural disasters. At the same time, the site is thirty-five feet underground, and clearing the debris was a challenge. To remove all the debris more of the top edges had to be removed making it about twenty-five feet deep. He made videos of each step of the procedure which are viewable on his website, along with information about guided tours that include a discussion of the history of the Cold Wa

Benton, Donna, “Missile Silo Makeover,” 501 Life Magazine, March 22, 2020, https://501lifemag.com/missile-silo-makeover/

Bledsoe, Adam, “35 feet below the earth’s surface is a historic missile control room in Faulkner County,” March 11, 2020, updated June 18, 2020, https://www.thv11.com/article/entertainment/places/discover-arkansas/discover-arkansas-titan-ranch/91-f9e8137a-47be-4c8c-b4e3-6c05d0ca17bc

Christ, Mark K., “Arkansas Historic Preservation Program,” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, accessed November 3, 2020, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/titan-ii-icbm-launch-complex-sites-7760/

Hebda, Dwain, “Titan Ranch owner has a ‘bomb’ business model,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,” January /27, 2020, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jan/27/titan-ranch-owner-has-, bomb-business-model/?f=rivervalley

Painter, Chanley, “Home Sweet Warhead: Man Re-Purposing Missile Silo into Home,” KARK.com, November 2, 2018, https://www.kark.com/news/local-news/home-sweet-warhead-man-re-purposing-missile-silo-into-home/

“The Military Standard: Titan II Missile System Silo Complex,” accessed November 23’ 2020, http://www.themilitarystandard.com/missile/titan2/silo.php/

“Titan II ICBM Launch Complex 373-5.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form. On file at Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Little Rock, Arkansas. Online at https://www.arkansaspreservation.com/National-Register-Listings/PDF/FA1220.nr.pdf (accessed November 27, 2020).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0RjPrjBSMg

https://www.titanranch.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd50A5qLv8FemVufSvDgkCQ