Est. 1954 · Cold War Strategic Air Command base (1953-1995) · Located on the historic Plattsburgh Barracks land near the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh · Closed under 1993 BRAC; cited as an Air Force redevelopment success story · Site now home to a Bombardier Transportation manufacturing plant
The grounds of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base sit on land with a deep military history beside Lake Champlain. The area was long associated with the U.S. Army's Plattsburgh Barracks and lies near the site of the September 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh, a decisive American naval and land victory in the War of 1812.
In 1953 the site returned to federal control and was renamed Plattsburgh Air Force Base; the Air Force broke ground for a new strategic base on January 29, 1954, with the runway completed and the first aircraft landing on November 7, 1955. Through the Cold War the base served the Strategic Air Command, hosting bombers, tankers, and at one point Pershing-era missile operations.
Under the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions, Plattsburgh AFB was officially closed on September 30, 1995, with a closure ceremony the day before. The roughly 5,000-acre property was turned over to the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation (PARC). Two decades later about 99% of the base had been redeveloped, anchored by a Bombardier Transportation rail-car manufacturing plant and a mix of residential, commercial, and civic uses. The Air Force cites Plattsburgh among its BRAC redevelopment success stories.
Note: Local ghost lore describing the base's old gymnasium as a former 'insane asylum' or a wartime morgue is not supported by the documented record, and the frequently repeated 'Battle of Plattsburgh 1812' date is itself in error (the battle occurred in September 1814).
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plattsburgh_Air_Force_Base
- https://www.wamc.org/post/look-back-plattsburgh-air-force-base-closure-twenty-years-ago
- https://www.afcec.af.mil/Home/BRAC/Plattsburgh.aspx
Pounding on doorsWeights moving on their ownFootsteps on the upper-level trackOvernight screams
The paranormal reputation of the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base centers on its old gymnasium. According to the lore, people who worked in the gym reported pounding coming from doors where a 'morgue' was said to have been, weights moving when no one was present, footsteps on the upper-floor running track, and screams heard overnight.
The Greater Adirondack Ghost & Tour Company — an established ghost-tour operator founded and operated by Matt Boire, documented in Military Times (October 2013) and Seven Days Vermont (July 2014) — specifically includes the former base in its tour portfolio and cites the Old Gym as a site of reported pounding and screams. This constitutes independent corroboration of the paranormal tradition from a named, documented tour operator operating in the region.
The framing in some retellings — that the gym once held an 'insane asylum' and a morgue for 'mangled body parts from the wars' connected to the 'Battle of Plattsburgh 1812' — contains clear historical errors: the Battle of Plattsburgh took place in 1814, and no documentary record of an asylum at this location exists. The paranormal tradition around the Old Gym is real and independently attested; the specific historical causal claims attached to it are not.
Media Appearances
- Military Times, 'Military spots where spirits are said to roam' (October 27, 2013)
- Seven Days Vermont, 'Touring Haunted Plattsburgh With a Costumed Guide' (July 16, 2014)
Where this legend is told
