Message posted by Peter Merlin on February 10, 2008 at 21:16:20 PST:

Kelly Johnson named the Groom Lake facility "Paradise Ranch" to attract workers to the remote location. He always said it was kind of a nasty joke on his part since the accomodations were so spartan at the time. He proposed the "Paradise Ranch" name to the CIA in the spring of 1955 and, according to his personal journal, it was accepted. In 1956, however, the site was officially, and legally, named Watertown. It is apparently still listed as such. Watertown is a member of Alamo Township in Lincoln County. Lockheed workers in the early days continued to call it "the ranch" and that nickname caught on with later generations of Groom Lake personnel.

In Reply to: Paradise Ranch posted by Robert on February 09, 2008 at 15:01:31 PST:

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