White Sulphur Springs: Project Greek Island's Secret Congressional Bunker

Hidden beneath one of America's most luxurious resorts lies one of the Cold War's most remarkable secrets. From 1959 to 1992, the elegant Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, concealed Project Greek Island—a fully equipped underground bunker designed to house the entire United States Congress in the event of nuclear war.

This isn't speculation or urban legend. For more than three decades, while guests played golf, soaked in mineral baths, and enjoyed five-star dining at the historic resort, a massive concrete fortress sat buried 720 feet into the hillside beneath their feet. The 112,544-square-foot facility featured blast doors weighing up to 28 tons, 18 dormitories capable housing 1,100 people, its own water supply, power generators, a communications center, medical facilities, and enough food to sustain Congress for 60 days after a nuclear attack.

The bunker was hidden in plain sight. Its construction from 1959 to 1962 was disguised as the addition of the West Virginia Wing—a new hotel expansion complete with air-conditioned rooms and conference facilities. While that cover story was technically true, workers poured 50,000 tons of concrete into what became a two-level underground complex with walls reinforced by steel and protected by 20 feet of earth and rock. Government employees working under the cover name "Forsythe Associates" posed as television repair technicians while maintaining the bunker in constant operational readiness. Every Wednesday night for 30 years, they fired up the generators, replaced air filters, rotated food supplies, and updated congressional evacuation plans based on current membership.

The Town That Kept the Secret

What makes this story extraordinary isn't just the engineering feat—it's the human element of secrecy. The locals knew something was happening. Construction workers saw the enormous foundation excavation, the massive deliveries of concrete, the puzzling shipments of bunk beds and urinals, and the guards posted during construction. The quantities and specifications didn't match a simple hotel addition. Yet for three decades, the community of White Sulphur Springs—where the Greenbrier was the largest employer and multiple generations worked at the resort—maintained near-perfect operational security. Parents warned children against loose talk. Families who suspected the truth understood that discretion protected their jobs and their community's economic lifeline. It was an open secret that everyone agreed to keep.

The Exposure

That silence ended on May 31, 1992, when Washington Post reporter Ted Gup published "The Ultimate Congressional Hideaway," revealing the classified facility's existence with detailed maps and photographs. An anonymous tipster—believed to be a federal employee frustrated by Cold War-era spending in the post-Soviet period—had provided Gup with enough information to confirm what locals had suspected for decades. The day after the article published, Speaker of the House announced the bunker would be shut down. Once the location was public knowledge, the facility's primary defense—secrecy—was compromised. By mid-1995, the bunker officially became property of the Greenbrier Resort, which began offering public tours.

Timeline of Project Greek Island:

• 1778: Greenbrier Resort founded as White Sulphur Springs healing resort
• 1941-1945: Resort serves as military hospital during World War II, establishing government relationship
• 1958-1959: Army Corps of Engineers selects Greenbrier for congressional emergency relocation facility
• 1959-1962: Construction of bunker alongside West Virginia Wing hotel expansion (cover story)
• October 1962: Construction completed just before Cuban Missile Crisis—closest the facility came to activation
• 1962-1992: Bunker maintained in constant readiness by 12-15 government employees posing as TV technicians
• May 31, 1992: Washington Post publishes Ted Gup's exposé revealing facility's existence
• 1992: Government immediately decommissions bunker after security compromise
• 1995: Greenbrier takes ownership and begins offering public tours

Historical Significance

Project Greek Island represents a fascinating intersection of Cold War nuclear anxiety, continuity of government planning, and the practical challenges of maintaining democracy during global catastrophe. The facility was designed during the era when nuclear bombers took hours to reach their targets, providing enough warning time to evacuate Congress from Washington, D.C. By the 1990s, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking in minutes, the bunker's strategic value had diminished considerably.

The story also raises uncomfortable questions about government preparedness. While Congress had a secure facility ready for immediate occupancy, no comparable civilian shelters existed for the American public. After the Post's article revealed the bunker, political backlash focused on this disparity—taxpayer dollars funding survival for 535 legislators while ordinary citizens were left unprotected.

Today, the Greenbrier Bunker serves as both tourist attraction and historical artifact. The 90-minute tours provide a unique window into Cold War-era thinking and the extraordinary lengths taken to preserve governmental continuity. Whether a similar facility exists elsewhere today remains unknown—but if history is any guide, the best secrets are the ones hidden in plain sight.

Sources & Further Reading:

• Gup, Ted. "The Ultimate Congressional Hideaway." Washington Post, May 31, 1992. [Original exposé that revealed the bunker]
• Graff, Garrett M. Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself—While the Rest of Us Die. Simon & Schuster, 2017. [Comprehensive history of government continuity plans]
• Official Greenbrier Bunker Tours: https://www.greenbrier.com/Activities/The-Bunker/ [Current public tours of the facility]
• Atomic Heritage Foundation: Nuclear Museum Greenbrier Bunker entry [Detailed technical specifications and historical context]

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