Did you know the Nazis had a secret training base hidden out on a ranch in Rustic Canyon, Los Angeles? No kiddin’. This isn’t some alternative history fiction, although I’m sure it’s been integrated into more than a few. The Murphy Ranch was originally build by a widow before WWII as a 22 room mansion with electric generators, a 20,000 gallon diesel fuel tank and a 300,000 gallon water tank. A fire damaged much of the property and she abandoned it only for it to be bought by…NAZIS!
Where was Indy when we needed him?
Norman and Winona Stephens bought the ranch, who were supporters of the Silver Legion of America, or “The Silver Shirts”, a pro-fascist organization, that were modeled after Hitler’s Brownshirts. By 1934, the group had over 15,000 members and begun reparative construction on the Murphy Ranch. The group pictured it as the fortified world headquarters of the Nazi party after the inevitable point when they took over the globe.
But the plans all fell through. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, some of the construction workers working on the property noticed paramilitary troops being trained by a German man on the property. The powers that be came in and shut it down, after arresting its German military officer for sending secret messages to Germany. And the rest, of course, is history.
You can see still the remains of the compound. While overgrown with weeds and covered with graffiti, one still can find decaying buildings, and even secret passages still being discovered by hikers, all over the property. Check out the link from one of our favorite sites, Roadtrippers.com, for directions to the ranch and more information and pictures.
