Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge WW2 Bunkers

The Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge WW2 Bunkers are hidden abandoned structures located in Sudbury, Massachusetts. When the Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex Superfund site was established in 1942, the bunkers were constructed. The U.S. Army military post during WW2 was about four square miles large and included parts of the Massachusetts towns of Maynard, Stow, Hudson, and Sudbury. The location was used as a laboratory disposal site, an ordnance testing station, a troop training and research facility, and an ammo store. Bunker 303, Bunker 309, and several others were used to store live ammunition. 

Fort Devens’ closure after the second world war required a lot of effort. The EPA and the U.S. Army collaborated to remove contaminated soil, dismantle underground storage tanks, lid an on-site landfill, and monitor groundwater. Parts of the site are currently owned by several organizations. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service received 2,230 acres of the property from the Army in 2000. (USFWS). With the transferred area, USFWS established the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. Today, visitors of the refuge can walk up to the bunkers and imagine what times were like there a few decades ago. There are several Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge WW2 Bunkers which are worth exploring!