Did you know that the world’s first nuclear reactor is buried at a site in Illinois? Known as Site A/Plot M Disposal Site, the nuclear reactor Chicago Pile-1 is buried in the confines of Red Gate Woods.
University of Chicago scientists made history in 1942 when they created the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Enrico Fermi, oversaw the experiment of the controlled release of nuclear energy which took place at the University’s football stadium. The reactor (called a “pile” in the early days of the atomic era) paved the way for the future development of other nuclear reactors. In 1943, Chicago Pile-1 was relocated to Red Gate Woods where it was disassembled then rebuilt with a radiation shield, and renamed Chicago Pile-2. After its retirement, the reactor was buried in a grave with a marker placed at the site.
As part of the Forest Preserves of Cook Country, Red Gate Woods is 32 acres and a place people can hike and enjoy nature today. It’s almost hard to believe a nuclear reactor is buried here.
Hector Sanchez/AllTrails
After decades of environmental cleanup and monitoring of the site, the area was re-opened in 1991 as a public park for all to enjoy.
Analiese Gremillion/AllTrails
There are two different granite markers at Red Gate Woods, one at Site A and the other at Site M.
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This boulder at Site A commemorates the historical significance of the nuclear reactor and what was accomplished here at the dawn of the atomic age.
Kathleen Cosgriff/AllTrails
Like an epitaph on a gravestone, a warning of the nuclear reactor is carved into a stone marking the burial site. This is Site M and the marker serves as a cautionary tale not to dig.
Kathleen Cosgriff/AllTrails
Although the nuclear burial site is a draw to the preserve, the trail is a great hike that will take you through the woods and by a gorgeous lake.
Michael Gaughan/AllTrails
The trail entrance to see the nuclear reactor burial site is near Willow Springs at S. Archer Ave, Northeast of 107th Street, Cook County, IL 60480. For more information on Red Gate Woods and visiting the burial site, visit the Forest Preserves of Cook County Website here.
Hector Sanchez/AllTrails
Analiese Gremillion/AllTrails
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Kathleen Cosgriff/AllTrails
Michael Gaughan/AllTrails
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Address: Red Gate Woods, Palos Township, IL 60480, USA
