Elko Tract ghost town

Located a few miles east of Richmond, this area was built up to mimic the city as a decoy to possible air attacks during World War II. A fake airfield resembling Byrd Field (today's Richmond International Airport) was built here. In the event of an air attack, power would be turned off in Richmond, and the decoy town would be lit up instead. The war ended without incident.

After the war, the military donated the land back to the state. Due to overcrowding in the area's hospitals, a planned project to build a segregated medical colony began construction in the early 1950's. Streets, sewer systems, fire hydrants, and a still-standing water tower were completed before the project was scrapped in 1955. The area has grown over with trees and brush, but many artifacts remain from the ghost town.