.. no longer

- used for anything
- all 20+ buildings have been abandoned
- people living in the area would love to see it used
- as is, it is just an eyesore
- this was a tower used for ____________
- think I know somebody I can ask, so will get back on that part
- if it were used to test missiles, it is out in the open
- everyone would have known about it
- old aerial photos even show it in the open
- a long history

- began as a textile plant
- was part of Fairchild when planes were made for WW2
- became part of of the Western Electric plant with a Government contract for guidance systems for Nike missiles / Hercules missiles

former “Tarheel Army Missile Plant” sale was granted by the U.S. General Services Administration.
sold to an Alabama company in 2004 -- rezoning has been requested so all 22 acres are the same


At this plant all battery and radar control trailers plus LOPAR, TTR, MTR, and TRR radars were built and tested prior to shipment to the Army, mostly by rail. During the peak of the Nike SAFEGUARD there were between 3 and 4,000 employees.

After WW2 ended, the Western Electric Company took over the plant, which was still a government-owned facility. In the 1950s & 60s, Western Electric manufactured large portions of the Nike Ajax & Hercules surface-to-air missile system at the Burlington plant.


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