Mcdowell Grove Forest Preserve

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. After links have been created, remove this message.
This article has been tagged since October 2006.

McDowell Grove Forest Preserve, located in Naperville, Illinois, was the site of a secret radar training school during World War II.

Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army took over an old Civilian Conservation Corps camp located in McDowell Grove, just northwest of Naperville, to construct a camp for the training of radar technology, operation and maintenance.

The U.S. Army Signal Corps quietly recruited highly intelligent young men for the classified work with the promise of a commission and a draft deferral. Because the students wore civilian clothes, they were sometimes accused of being conscientious objectors by townsfolk who could not be told what took place within the secret compound.

McDowell Grove is now part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, and features hiking trails, picnic sites, fishing, and boating.