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Kesselring Atomic Power Labratory: A Short History

May 15, 2020 by Guest Contributor 8 Comments

Kenneth A Kesselring Site in the 1950s courtesy Town of Milton Historians Office CollectionIt was 71 years ago in May that the land for the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site began to be purchased to create the Atomic Energy Commission’s $20 million plant located in West Milton, Saratoga County, NY.

The Kesselring Site was built by the United States Government for the purpose of training nuclear officers and enlisted sailors to operate the United States Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

The land was acquired by eminent domain primarily between May and August 1949. By August 1949, 70% of the land had been purchased and the other 30% would serve as a safety zone which would be purchased over the next few months.

At the time, it was a collection of individual parcels containing houses and farms along with small mill complexes along various streams and creeks. There were 78 parcels of land in all which displaced approximately 30 families.

The land, totaling 3900 acres, is in both the towns of Galway and Milton. The site was chosen for its low population density and abundance of water from the Kayerosseras Creek, Glowegee Creek and Crooks Brook.

Three cemeteries that remain on the property. The Potter Cemetery, in the Town of Galway, was named after Rev. Abel Potter. The other two, the Maxwell and Young Cemeteries, are in the Town of Milton.

The site was originally named the Remote Atomic Power Laboratory. Operations began at the site in 1955. In 1968, the site was renamed the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in honor of the General Electric Company’s General Manager of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, who had died suddenly.

Kenneth A Kesselring SiteThe most prominent feature of the site is the Horton Sphere. The Horton Sphere was built as the containment building for the Submarine Intermediate Reactor, a sodium cooled design that would eventually power the USS Seawolf (SSN-575).

The Horton Sphere (or the D1G Ball) was the first pressure containment building ever constructed and, at the time, was the largest sphere ever built.

Former President Jimmy Carter graduated from US Naval Academy in 1946 and in 1948 he began officer  training for submarine duty and served aboard the USS Pomfret (SS-391). In 1952, he served three months of temporary duty with Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C., on the design and development of nuclear propulsion plants. In March 1953, he began nuclear power school at Kesselring and assisted in the setup of on-the-job training for the enlisted men being instructed in nuclear propulsion for the Seawolf.

Over the past 71 years the site has trained over 50,000 naval trainees. At one point it housed three reactors. Two are now out of commission and the third is currently being decommissioned. Most training is now done with simulators. Over the years, the property has grown into what might look like a small city of its own.

Karen Staulters is the Milton Town historian and has been involved in many local history projects as a Milton resident for 30 years. She is one of the founding members of the Saratoga County Heritage Hunters and most recently led the effort to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of The Kesselring site. Karen can be reached at jkstaul@aol.com.

This essay is presented by the Saratoga County History Roundtable and Brookside Museum. Visit their websites and follow them on Facebook.

Photos, from above: Kenneth A Kesselring Site in the 1950s courtesy Town of Milton Historians Office Collection; and aerial view of the Kenneth A Kesselring Site.

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Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: energy, Engineering History, Galway, General Electric, Maritime History, Military History, Milton, Saratoga County, Saratoga County History Roundtable

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wally Day says

    May 16, 2020 at 11:17 AM

    Fascinating place. Sure would welcome more about this place, it’s development, and both past and current operations.
    Probably a lot is still classified and/or need-to-know, but still……

    Reply
    • Robert says

      May 16, 2020 at 2:05 PM

      I went to school there between 99 and 00.

      Reply
  2. Pat B says

    May 16, 2020 at 8:51 PM

    I remember in my early teens being able to see the containment dome on our way to Saratoga Lake. Only a few years later my brother trained there.

    Reply
  3. Paul Kuchay says

    May 26, 2020 at 7:01 PM

    I grew up in Charlton and finished my Navy nuclear training at the Kesslering site from November of 1983 to May of 1984, sleeping in my childhood bed at my parents house. Great experience and has provided me a fantastic education. I was fortunate to convince RPI to establish a transfer curriculum so the staff members could finish an EE or ME bachelors of Science degree from RPI in the 3.5 years instructors were assigned to the NPTU.

    Reply
  4. DavidCobb says

    August 8, 2021 at 8:25 AM

    The sphere was constructed by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. My father Wandell H. Cobb was project manger for CB&I. I have many pictures, letters and written stories about the project. As a little boy I visited the site many times on Saturdays.
    During a very important pressure test everyone but minimal personal were on site. At the most crucial point a man and young boy walked into the area.
    My father confronted the man saying that he didn’t know how he was allowed in the area but he needed to leave the area immediately! The gentleman did not protest and left.
    The test went as planned successfully and three days later a meeting was held between all involved ranking parties.
    Dad was introduced to the man he had seen that day. This time he was in a naval uniform. Dad learned he was Admiral Rickover a leader in the development of nuclear subs. My father begin to apologize but the Admiral told him he was right and he would have never been allowed in if it wasn’t for who he was.
    My father went on to build many other large job firsts for CB&I. There was a 16 mm film made of the building of the project and wonder if a copy existed. His copy deteriorated with age.

    Reply
  5. Kenneth Kaminski says

    July 9, 2022 at 1:53 PM

    I was stationed there for 2 1/2 years as an in-hull instructor, I was only 21 years old teaching a new class of officers and enlisted every six months how to operate a naval nuclear power plant, hands on training.

    There were actually four reactors there, D1G, S3G, S8G, and MARF, Modifications and Additions to Reactor Facilities. I worked at
    MARF, the “rod less wonder”! I loved it there, best job I ever had!

    Reply
  6. Bruce Hartsock says

    July 28, 2022 at 9:16 AM

    I qualifiedat MARF on the site. The training itself was good but more so loved the upstate area. Lived in Saratoga Springs and made as many trips possible to camp&hike around Lake George, Lake Placid, Long Lake, etc.

    Reply
  7. Karen Kelley says

    August 25, 2022 at 5:30 PM

    My grandfather was Kenneth Kesselring, and I am interested in the history of this site, and especially comments from anyone who may have worked with him. Fun fact – the family dog was named “Digger” after the D1G!

    Reply

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